


the one where they met in med school

by doc_pickles, NatIAm, Trebleclefstories



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emerald City Bar | Joe's Bar (Grey's Anatomy), Established Relationship, F/M, Flashbacks, I Watched Too Much Grey's Anatomy, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Inspired by Grey's Anatomy, Long-Distance Relationship, Long-Term Relationship(s), Medical School, Secret Relationship, Time Skips, jolex, jolex au, med school au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:54:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 45,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27412276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doc_pickles/pseuds/doc_pickles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatIAm/pseuds/NatIAm, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trebleclefstories/pseuds/Trebleclefstories
Summary: What if Alex and Jo met while going to Harvard Medical School together?
Relationships: Alex Karev & Arizona Robbins, Alex Karev & Izzie Stevens, Alex Karev & Jo Wilson, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson Karev, Jo Wilson & Cristina Yang, Jo Wilson & Izzie Stevens, Jo Wilson & Lexie Grey, Meredith Grey & Alex Karev, Meredith Grey & Alex Karev & Cristina Yang, Meredith Grey & Jo Wilson
Comments: 91
Kudos: 150
Collections: The Group Chat's Fics





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

> So... we absolutely LOVED this prompt, took it and ran with it. This originally was supposed to be a one-shot, but it kind of grew out of control and became what it is now.
> 
> This fic was written by trebleclefstories (Leya), doc_pickles (Nina), NatIAm (Nat)

———

#  **(July 2006)**

“Hey! I miss you,” Jo smiled as she talked into the phone. “How was your first week as an intern?”

“Honestly? It sucked. But it was also amazing. I don’t know if that makes sense,” Alex replied, shrugging although he knew she couldn’t see him. “And for the record, I miss you more.”

“That’s impossible. You’re so busy you don’t even have time to miss me,” Jo chuckled. “Me on them other hand? My life revolves around school and studying. Studying isn’t as fun without you around. I miss our study dates.”

“I do too,” Alex sighed. He really did miss her. A lot. All the time. He’d only been living in Seattle for a month and it was definitely a challenge. He really didn’t know how he was going to make it through the next year without her. “But at least you have Lexie there. You’re not completely alone.”

“Yeah you’ve got a point,” Jo hummed. “But Lexie doesn’t do all the things for me that you do, if you know what I mean.”

Alex groaned, “Stop it. We’re way too far away from each other to do this. I need you so bad right now and I can’t have you and it sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” Jo agreed. She couldn’t believe how far they’d come. She and Alex had been together for about 2 ½ years now. In all that time, they’d been attached at the hip. He was her best friend and she was his. It was odd not seeing him everyday. It was unnatural to sleep without him beside her at night like he’d been doing for years. “I have a week-long break next month though and I was thinking of coming to visit. I’ve saved up a bunch of money from tutoring undergrads.”

“Would it be bad of me to just keep you locked up in my apartment the whole time you’re here, because that sounds appealing,” Alex’s words sparked a string of laughter from Jo, making him sigh down the line. “I miss hearing your laugh and that makes me feel pathetic. It feels like I’m in one of those stupid rom coms you and Lexie forced me to watch all the time.”  
  
“We didn’t force you, you readily agreed to it, Karev,” Lexie’s voice echoed faintly in the background, Jo shushing her as the two bickered quietly. 

“Am I on speaker?” 

“Um… maybe?” Jo shrugged, knowing that he couldn’t see her through the phone. “You can’t possibly be embarrassed. Lexie has seen and heard worse from you.”

“I sure have,” Lexie yelled out from her spot across the room. “Keep going! Don’t let me stop you from being all mushy and talking about how much you miss Jo.”

Alex rolled his eyes, “Keep your comments to yourself, let me enjoy my girlfriend for a little while please.”

“So, tell me. Did you make any friends yet?” Jo asked. 

“What is this? Middle school?” Alex scoffed. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to become a surgeon. A kickass, rich, plastic surgeon.”

“Yes I’m sure between the scut work and the enemas you have plenty of time to dream about all the money you’re gonna make,” Jo giggled down the line. 

“Oh, you just wait. When you’re an intern I’m going to have you doing all my scut,” Alex warned playfully. “You’ll be sorry for making fun of my career aspirations.”

“I just can’t see you going into plastics,” Jo confessed, a large grin on her face. “Not that you wouldn’t be good at it, but I just don’t see it. Maybe general or ortho!”

“General? Wow I didn’t realize you thought so little of me,” Alex leaned back onto the brick wall behind him as he listened to the sounds of Jo’s quiet laughter. 

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with general,” Jo insisted. She groaned as she saw the time. The worst part about Alex moving across the country was the time difference. “I wish I could talk more, but I really have to get ready for bed. I will try to call you tomorrow evening.”

“I’m on-call tomorrow,” Alex revealed sadly. “I hate this. I went from going to bed next to you every night to struggling to even find some time during the day to talk.”

“I know,” Jo sighed. “I hate it, too. Of course I wish you were here, but I am so proud of you. You’re living the dream right now, Alex. If that means I have to miss you for a little while, so be it.”

_God, he really loved this woman._ Alex smiled and clutched the phone tightly, “I love you. So much.”

“I love you too,” Jo answered. It still made her heart beat quickly whenever she heard him say those words. He’d been the first person to ever say them to her and mean it. “Go kick some ass.”

“I will,” Alex chuckled. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.”

Alex hung up his phone and sighed as he walked back into the bar across the street from the hospital. He walked back up to the group of his fellow interns and ordered a beer, staring at his phone for a moment before finally putting it back in his pocket. 

“What’s up with you?” Yang asked. “You look all, mopey.” 

“It’s nothing,” Alex shook his head.  
  


“No, she’s right. You look depressed,” Grey seconded. 

“I’m fine,” Alex took a swig of his beer. “I’m just a little homesick.”

“You know what will cheer you up? Getting laid. You see that girl over there,” Yang pointed to a woman across the bar with red hair and blue eyes. “She’s been eyeing you for a while now. I’m sure if you asked she’d say yes.”

“I don’t need to get laid,” Alex narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re uptight. Isn’t he Stevens?” Yang asked the woman he’d identified as Dr. Model. 

“He is,” Stevens nodded, laying her hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I know we’ve only known each other for like a week, but this is the most disappointed and depressed that I’ve seen you. And that’s saying a lot, considering that we are surgical interns and basically slaves to the hospital.”

"I'm not depressed and I do not need to get laid," Alex grumbled, taking a swig of his beer. "If you must know, I was on the phone with my girlfriend."

"Evil Spawn has a girlfriend?" Cristina raised an eyebrow. "I didn't take you for a relationship type guy."

"Neither did I, but then I met her. So, just stop pestering and let me mope in peace."

"Wow. Karev has a heart," O'Malley chuckled and took a sip of his drink. "I didn't see that one coming."

“Oh screw you guys, why don’t you go get laid? Being so invested in someone else’s love life has gotta be a sign that you need to get some.”

———

#  **_(August 2003)_ **

_“Hey! You’re Jo right?”_

_Jo turned around to see a young woman with short brown hair and brown eyes smiling at her. Jo outstretched her hand, “Yes. I’m Jo. You’re Lexie, my lab partner right?”_

_“Yup! It’s so nice to officially meet you,” Lexie shook Jo’s hand._

_She seemed like a sweet and perky person. The exact kind of person that Jo didn’t normally associate with. For the longest time, Jo didn’t have any friends or get attached to anyone. She had two friends the entirety of her undergrad and typically didn’t look to make any more. Jo supposed it would be nice to have someone, "It's nice to meet you, too."_

  
  


#  **_(September 2003)_ **

_"I can't believe you actually did that!" Jo exclaimed as she and Lexie walked down to the lab. "You became another one of Karev's conquests."_

_"Honestly, I don't even regret it," Lexie confessed, a large smile on her face. "There is a reason why Leah is so hung up on him. He knows what he's doing. You should go for it. Sleeping with him is like a right of passage or something."_

_"Ew, no way," Jo faked a gag. "He's an ass. I have much higher standards than Alex Karev."_

_They entered the lab to find the program's resident man-whore going over some samples. Jo had to admit, he was pretty hot. Alex Karev was cocky and charming and incredibly intelligent. He was always getting the highest grades and was every professor's favorite student. She was into him. But she'd never say it out loud._

_"Hey, Lexie," Alex smirked as they walked over to their stations. He gave Jo a once over and looked at her with one of his signature crooked grins. "Hello Lexie's friend. You got a name?"_

_Jo considered staying quiet but finally decided to respond, "Jo Wilson."_

_"Nice, I like chicks with boys' names."_

_"Karev, " Lexie warned._

_"What? I do. It's hot," Alex shrugged._

_"Alex, stop sleeping with all the first years. It ruins them," Lexie admonished._

_"I slept with you," Alex pointed out._

_"Yeah, and it's never going to happen again. Besides, Jo's my best friend," Lexie shrugged. "I'm protective of her."_

  
  


#  **_(October 2003)_ **

_“I told you I didn’t need you to follow me,” Jo grumbled. “I can take care of myself.”_

_"Calm down, princess. There's no need to get your panties in a twist," Alex rolled his eyes at Jo who'd been yelling at him for the past few minutes. They'd been studying with a group of friends in the library when Jo decided to leave and Alex offered to walk her home. “I just don’t think you should be walking home alone with that fancy watch on your wrist that daddy probably gifted you. Can’t risk someone mugging the princess.”_

_"Stop calling me princess!" Jo shouted, turning to face Alex as anger bubbled up inside of her. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself for a moment. "My mother left me at a fire station when I was two weeks old. I got bumped around foster homes until I was sixteen when I took matters into my own hands and started living out of a car. I parked it behind the gym of my high school so I could sneak in and use the showers before class. My home ec teacher--Ms. Schmidt--she’d let me do my laundry there for free. And yeah, I got into good schools because I worked my ass off. And when I walked across that stage at graduation, I didn’t have a cheering section filled with my richy-rich family. I had one person, Ms. Schmidt. That’s it. She’s the one who gave me this watch when I got into Med School. Her son works for the company.”_

_Alex had the decency to look down at the ground ashamed. He walked up to the wall Jo was leaning against and stood beside her, “It is a nice watch.”_

_“Thanks.”_

_The next time they see each other, things are different. Understanding Jo’s background gave Alex a deeper appreciation for her work ethic. Even though they were in different years, Alex found himself seeking Jo out for projects and studying. Being around her made him want to be better. He wanted to excel in ways he hadn’t in the past. And that said a lot, considering he was already at the top of his class._

_So that’s why when he saw her sitting at the bar a couple weeks later, he decided to join her. They’d had an argument earlier in the day where some things were said. Alex walked up to the bar and grinned at the bartender, “A beer for me and another round for Hobo Jo. Let me guess… Thunderbird or is it straight paint thinner?” Alex looked back up at the bartender. “You got a little brown paper bag you can put that in?”_

_“Would you stop,” Jo sighed and looked at Alex. “I had no parents. I lived in my car. Yes I have trust issues, it comes with the territory.”_

_“You need to stop acting like you’re the only person who ever had a crappy childhood,” Alex rolled his eyes slightly._

_“Oh yeah? How many foster homes did you get kicked out of before you moved into your car?”_

_“Seventeen. And I didn’t live in my car. I went to juvie,” Alex took a sip of his drink._

_“Stop making fun of me,” Jo shook her head._

_“I’m not.”_

_Jo’s face scrunched in interest, “Really?”_

_“And you’re actually lucky that your folks abandoned you. It means you didn’t have to watch your schizo mom go after your baby brother with a steak knife.”_

_“Fine, fair,” Jo conceded. “But you never woke up in the middle of the night with junkies banging on your bedroom windshield, praying they’d get tired or bored before they put a rock through a window.”_

_“No, I didn’t,” Alex shook his head in response. “Because the junkie was my dad and he didn’t break windows, just fingers.”_

_“Well, did you ever have foster parents that made you and nineteen other kids sleep on cots in the basement? Locking the doors, lights out, so that if you had to pee in the middle of the night, you had to use buckets they set up along the wall. Buckets you couldn’t see because if you turned the lights on, the bigger kids would hold you down and take those buckets and--” Jo’s voice cracked slightly._

_Alex bowed his head in sadness, “God… no, never.”_

_“Me neither,” Jo shrugged. “Saw it in a movie on cable.”_

_Alex’s mouth twitched into a shocked grin as he let out a few chuckles, “How did you get cable in your car?”_

_“I don’t live in my car anymore, jerk,” Jo giggled lightly._

_Her story must’ve done the trick to break the ice because before they knew it, Jo and Alex were well on their way to becoming best of friends. They laughed and joked together for hours, even going as far as fake crying to get out of paying their tab._

_“You know, you’re not half bad, Karev,” Jo grinned as she and Alex walked out of the bar. She clutched the sides of Alex’s jacket which he had so kindly allowed her to borrow. “I actually had a lot of fun tonight.”_

_“So did I, Wilson,” Alex smiled back at her. “What do you say we grab some tacos and eat them in the back of my truck?”_

_“Sounds great to me.”_


	2. part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! hope you are all enjoying this fic so far. i'm not sure if we explained, but we go back and forth between present day and flashbacks. anything in regular print is present and italics are flashbacks.

———

#  **(August 2006)**

He had been taking a nap on his couch when he heard a knock on the door. It was faint and persistent and Alex really considered not answering and just sleeping through the knocks. He was a surgical intern after all. There were limited hours in the day where he got sleep.

The knocks grew louder and more urgent, finally becoming too loud for him to avoid. Alex grumbled as he got up from the couch, "I'm coming, calm down."

Alex huffed as he yanked the door open, "What the hell—"

He was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around his neck and lips meeting his. He knew immediately who it was and felt as if all the stress and exhaustion in his body had melted away. Alex broke the kiss after a few minutes and smiled sweetly, "You're here."

"Hi," Jo grinned and leaned back in for another kiss. "I'm here."

"How?" Alex shook his head in confusion, staring at his girlfriend in awe. "I talked to you a few hours ago and you never mentioned coming here."

"I called from the airport to make sure that you'd be home when I got here," she shrugged. Jo smiled widely and kissed him again."I missed you so much. I told you that I had a week-long break this month. Well, that starts today."

"I love you," Alex picked her up and dropped her on the couch, eliciting a squeal from Jo. "God, this month has been hell without you. I need you so bad right now."

"You have me," Jo looked deeply into his eyes, noticing the dark look that clouded them. “You always have me.” 

"You know we're going to spend the entire time you're here in bed, right?" Alex placed a kiss on Jo’s neck, causing shivers to run through her body.

"Oh, I'm fine with that,” Jo let out a moan, her hands moving to Alex’s chest. “I saw the Space Needle from the plane, I’m good.” 

———

#  **(January 2007)**

  
  


“How was Boston?” Meredith gave Alex a sideways glance as he walked into the locker room. 

“Did you have lots of sex?” Cristina grinned, elbowing Alex as he sat next to her on the bench. “You look happy.”

“It was good,” Alex nodded, looking up when neither woman responded to him. “What? You wanna hear about my sex life? Should I start telling you about how my girlfriend likes it when I use my tongue to-”

Both Meredith and Cristina began to verbally object loudly, sending Alex into a quiet round of chuckles. He felt Cristina’s fingers on his neck a moment later, examining the large hickey that Jo had left there, “Well Evil Spawn has got himself a biter. I’m gonna call her Dracula, since you never told us her name.”

“Oh shut up, she’s not a biter,” Alex examined the love bite momentarily as he stripped his shirt off before pulling his scrub top on. “Well not usually… Whatever, doesn’t matter because I had a good weekend. And for your information, we did not have sex the whole time. We went out to the bar with her roommate too.”

"Yeah, maybe once or twice for the entire week you were gone," Meredith giggled. "At least you had a better Christmas than we did. Izzie, George, and I stared at our Christmas tree for hours along with our new dog, Doc."

"You got a dog? You really are having a McDreamy crisis," Alex looked at Meredith sympathetically. "Well, if you ever want to get out of here and forget, you can always come to Boston with me next time. I'm going in the beginning of March for a few days. My girlfriend and her roommate have a couch you can sleep on."

"Sounds tempting, but I really don't want to be around to hear you and Dracula reunite after months apart," Meredith made a face. 

  
  


———

#  **(February 2007)**

  
  


"Your girlfriend was here?" O'Malley asked as he bit into his burger. Alex had shown up late to the hospital that morning, explaining that he had to go take his girlfriend to the airport. "She's been to Seattle before and we haven't met her?"

“Yeah she’s been to Seattle. We’ve just never met her because Alex has her locked up in his bedroom doing dirty jailhouse hooker things the whole time she’s here,” Meredith laughed as she stuffed her face with some more french fries. 

"Seriously, though. When are we going to meet her?" Izzie took a slurp of her drink. "Is she even real? Because I can't think of one good reason you'd hide your girlfriend from us. Unless, you were secretly doing it in the hospital with some other woman and you don't want them to find each other."

Alex choked on the pizza he’d been eating, “What? No!”

“Then why haven’t we met her?” Izzie looked at him expectantly. “You turn down every girl who comes your way and yet you won’t tell us about her. How’d you meet? How long have you guys been together? What’s she like? Is she smart, funny, pretty? Do you love her?”

“Why can’t you guys leave it alone? Isn’t there anything else you can focus on that’s more exciting or important than my relationship?”

The four interns exchanged glances before shrugging simultaneously, “Nope.”

“Fine,” Alex groaned as he rolled his eyes. “Since you won’t let it go, we met in med school. Her friend introduced us. We’ve been together for three years now and are going strong. And yes she’s smart. She’s the smartest person I know; even smarter than you, Yang. She’s hilarious and makes me laugh until I cry. She’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, so that’s why I don’t care about anyone who throws themselves at me. And yes, I am desperately in love with her.”

Alex continued to eat his pizza, unfazed by the stunned and silent expressions on his friends faces. He knew he could be an ass with a cold exterior, but he really did love Jo. If there was anyone he had a soft spot for it was the petite brunette that had taken him by surprise. 

“I’ll be damned,” Cristina muttered, sipping her soda as she stared at Alex. “The tin man really does have a heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keep an eye out for part three which will be out soon!


	3. part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (December 2003)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! Just a little reminder that present day is in print and flashbacks are in italics!

———

#  **( _December 2003_ )**

  
  


_“Come on, I need someone to come with me. I can’t go back to Iowa by myself and you’re the only person who knows about my family. Besides, Lexie’s going back to Seattle for Christmas and I know you don’t want to hang out with Leah and Heather who are sticking around,” Alex tried reasoning with Jo. “Come to Iowa with me for Christmas.”_

_“You only want me to go because if I’m there, you’ll have someone to entertain your siblings while you go out and hook-up with some old fling from high school,” Jo rolled her eyes as she grabbed two beers out of the fridge and handed one to Alex._

_“That’s not why I want you to come,” Alex frowned and shook his head. She really didn’t get it. She didn’t see it. She didn’t realize how much he cared about her and how close he was to slipping up and saying something stupid like I love you. Alex put a hand on her arm, grabbing her attention. “It’s just… no one should be alone for Christmas.”_

_Her eyes softened, “Alex I’ll be fine on my own. Really. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve spent Christmas alone my whole life.”_

_“I know you’ll be fine on your own. I’m saying that you don’t have to be alone anymore. You’ve got people. You’ve got me,” Alex stated, his eyes genuine._

_So, she went with him to Iowa. Because how could you say no to that? They decided to drive there. It was about a twenty hour drive without stops. They would trade off driving and stop at a motel to rest up for the remainder of the trip._

_When they finally made it to Iowa, Helen Karev was so overjoyed to see her son that she almost overlooked the girl he’d brought home. When her eyes finally fell on Jo though, a bright smile stretched across her face._

_“You must be Jo! Oh you’re so much prettier than Alex said,” Helen wrapped Jo into a hug, Jo meeting Alex’s eyes accusingly over her shoulder. “Come inside you two, Amber just made cookies, she’s been waiting for you all day.”_

_The pair made their way inside the house, Jo nudging Alex as they walked together, “So you talk about me huh? Or do you just mention every beautiful girl you pass on the street to your mom.”_

_Alex rolled his eyes, barely reacting fast enough to catch his sister as she barreled into him full speed._

_“Alex! You’re home!”_

_“Hey Peanut, you’ve grown a whole foot,” Alex ruffled Amber's hair, a megawatt grin spanning his face as he wrapped his arm around his sister. “Amber, this is Jo. She's my annoying friend from Med School. Jo, my bratty little sister Amber.”_

_“Hey!”_

_“Come on!”_

_Both girls sent a glare in Alex’s direction, causing him to stifle a laugh as he looked between the two girls he loved. The love he felt for each was different, but he was more than sure that the warm feeling that bubbles in his chest when he looked at Jo was exactly that._

_“Let’s get your bags into your room sweetie,” Helen called out from behind the trio. “Bad news about that though, since we don’t have an extra bed you and Jo will have to share your room.”_

_If looks could kill, Alex would be dead right now. Jo was glaring at him with a look that told him he’d be getting an earful from her once they were alone. For now though, she set a smile on her face and thanked his mom before following him down the hall and into his childhood bedroom._

_“Have you ever watched those documentaries about serial killers where they show you where it all began,” Jo spoke as she set her bag down on Alex’s old bed, her eyes scanning the shelves that were mostly bare save for a few wrestling trophies and some family photos. “That’s kind of what being here feels like.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Oh shut up,” Alex groaned as he laid flat across the bed, his eyes closing as he dragged his hands down his face. “Sorry about the room, I forgot about that. I’ll go sleep on the couch this week.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“No no it’s okay, I can sleep on the couch. You were nice enough to invite me out here, it’s the least I can do,” Jo reached for her bag, Alex’s hand stopping her as he looked up into her eyes. He could stare at her all day, but his goal at the moment was to make sure he didn’t screw everything up right off the bat. “Seriously Alex, I’ll be fi-”_

_“We can share, it’ll be fine. And I swear I’ll keep my hands to myself,” Alex smirked at the unamused look on Jo’s face. His own face dropped for a more serious expression as he sat up and met Jo’s gaze. “Really though, you should sleep in here. My mom has a tendency to… wander sometimes. You’re actually lucky you met her on a good day. I just don’t want you sleeping out there all alone if she decides to go off her rocker.”_

_Jo’s expression softened, one hand coming up to cradle Alex’s cheek as she looked over his face. He knew he probably looked pathetic, but he couldn’t move away from Jo’s touch, “You’re a big softy deep down, I’m learning more and more about you everyday Karev.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Yeah whatever, I just don’t want you screaming bloody murder and waking up the whole damn neighborhood,” Alex pushed aside the all too familiar warm feeling building in his chest, his eyes moving to his feet as Jo finally stepped away from him. “I’m gonna take a shower, you think you’ll survive the crazies out there?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Of course I will, I’m going to grill them about all of your dirty secrets so I can blackmail you until next Christmas,” a smirk played on Jo’s face as she made to walk out the room, eyes twinkling as she took in Alex’s shocked expression. “Mmm yeah I didn’t want to tell you but that’s the real reason I’m here. Sorry!”_

_The rest of the afternoon was relatively uneventful. Aaron came home from football practice with the same aloof attitude Alex had grown used to and he ended up playing Scrabble with the girls. He was amazed at how normal the scene seems, him, Amber, his mom, and Jo all sit around the dining table laughing as they all attempt to use made up words on the game board. He didn’t think that he'd ever felt this domestic in his life, the feeling was so foreign that he had to push down any newfound feelings that came with it._

_“Aha! Mistletoe, that’s 15 points and that officially puts me ahead of you Alex,” Jo’s proud voice and smug look was almost enough for Alex to forget that he was now losing. The sparkle in her eyes was too distracting though, something he thinks his sister recognized based on her next words._

_“We have mistletoe in the kitchen, maybe you can go stand under it so you can finally get Jo to kiss you,” Alex knew the grin on Amber’s face was one she learned from him, but he still hated it as both his sister and mother began to laugh at his expense. Jo however had a bright red blush covering her cheeks as she ducked her head down. “See! He totally wants to kiss you! And Jo does too!”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“That’s enough from you Amber, let’s get to bed,” Helen motioned for Amber to stand as she herself began to leave the room. “Say goodnight to Alex and Jo, we have a long day tomorrow.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Night, don’t stay up too late,” Amber called over her shoulder, earning her a reprimand from Helen as the two made their way to their rooms._

_Alex was hesitant to move his gaze to Jo, but when he finally did he found that she was already staring right at him. The two hadn’t had much alone time since arriving in Iowa, the quiet of the now empty room almost stifling as they shared a look._

_“Ready for bed Princess? If you’re nice I’ll let you have the side further from the window,” Alex stood and held his hand out for Jo, who gladly took it as they walked down the hallway together. The warmth radiating from her sparked the same feeling in Alex’s chest again, a feeling he found he couldn’t push down as Jo stood so close to him._

_“Why’d you bring me here? Why me and not anyone else,” Jo’s voice was quiet as she stared up at Alex, the two now back in his bedroom and standing in the middle of the room. Their hands were still intertwined, but there’s a gap between them, still. “You could’ve brought anyone with you, why me? Why would you do that for me?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Shut up, why wouldn’t I,” Alex met Jo’s gaze for a moment, before releasing her hand and moving towards his suitcase. “You’re lucky it’s freaking freezing here, otherwise I’d be sleeping naked.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Jo didn’t chuckle at his joke, instead she moved silently to grab her pajamas and head to the bathroom. Alex threw himself onto the bed, pressing his face into the pillows as he let out a low scream. Everytime he thought things were going well between them, he screwed it up. Resigning himself to his silent suffering, Alex settled into the bed, getting as comfortable as he could before Jo came back. The bed was only a full, barely big enough for his adult figure, let alone two people._

_“You better not hog all the covers, I’ll kick you in the middle of the night,” Jo’s voice startled Alex out of his train of thought, his eyes wandering over her oversized shirt and sleep shorts. He squeezed his eyes shut then, trying to think of literally anything besides the beautiful woman climbing into his bed and laying inches away from him. “Goodnight Alex.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Night.”_

_Jo turned onto her side, back facing Alex as they both settled in. There were two minutes of awkward silence before Jo turned around and propped her head on her hand to look at Alex. His eyes were closed, but he could feel the movement of Jo’s body wiggling around the bed, his mind torturing him with the thought. He finally peaked his eyes open, looking at Jo through the darkness._

_“What?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“I can’t sleep.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“You didn’t even try.”_

_“I’m cold. It’s freezing in here.”_

_“I told you to pack warm pajamas. You were the one who decided to wear a t-shirt and shorts to bed,” Alex sighed and extended his arm out to her. “Come here. I run hot.”_

_Jo slid over closer to Alex and snuggled against him. It was almost too much to be this close to him. It felt so right. She wanted more than this. She wanted so much more. She looked up at him, “Alex.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Jo.”_   
  


_The moonlight streaming through the windows illuminated Jo’s face briefly, giving Alex a perfect view of her shining eyes and plump lips. It took every bit of self restraint not to lean forward and kiss her right then._

_“Was Amber right? Do you really wanna kiss me?” Jo’s voice was impossibly soft as she stared at Alex, his heart stopping at her words._ It’s now or never Karev… 

_“Yes.”_

_It took all of five seconds for Jo to surge forward and connect their lips. His hands reached out, falling to her hips as she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. After a minute, she pulled back with a grin, “About damn time, I thought I was gonna have to lay here and pretend I don’t wanna jump your bones this whole trip.”_

_“Jump my bones, huh?” Alex raised his eyebrows, amused. “That bad?”_

_“Yeah,” Jo admitted as she bit her lip nervously._

_“Well lucky for you, I’m always down for anything,” Alex leaned forward and began to kiss her once again, pulling her flush against him. He moved his lips down her throat and found a spot that had her gasping for air. “I want you so bad.”_

_“Alex, we can’t,” Jo panted breathlessly. “Your family…”_

_“Why do you think my room is at the opposite end of the house?” He smirked teasingly. “We’ll just have to be quiet.”_

_Jo was very ready to give in but she stopped herself, “Wait. Tell me this isn’t just a one time thing. Tell me that I’m not just going to be another girl on the list of girls you’ve screwed over the years. Because if that’s all I am to you, let’s stop while we’re ahead. This friendship is too important for me to throw away just for it to last one night.”_

_Alex paused. She still didn’t get it. She was here in his arms, in his childhood bedroom and she thought she was a meaningless lay. To be fair though, that’s all she’d ever known. Jo hadn’t had a single second of anything real in her life. As much as he wanted her, Alex knew that she needed to know that he was in this. The sex could wait._

_Alex reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. He looked deeply into her eyes and brought a hand up to caress her face, “Earlier tonight, before we got ready for bed you asked me a question. So I am… answering it.”_

_Jo waited for a few moments and watched as Alex’s mouth opened and closed dumbly, “I don’t hear anything.”_

_“Shut up.”_

_“Okay, but…”_

_“I’m serious.”_

_“Fine.”_

_“I love you.”_

_Jo’s breath caught in her throat as she heard Alex’s words. No one had ever said those words to her before. At least, not with this much sincerity. Jo’s eyes watered, “You love me?”_

_“I love you,” Alex repeated, taking her chin in his hand. His eyes scanned her face. “You are not a one time thing, Jo. You are my favorite person in the whole world. You could never be a one time thing. You’re everything.”_

_“I’m scared,” Jo confessed. “But I think I love you, too.”_

_Alex felt his heart flutter. His lips curved up into a smile, “Really?”_

_“Yeah,” Jo nodded. She took a hand up to his face and caressed it gently. Never in her life had she felt so completely vulnerable with someone, but also so safe. That’s why the next words that came out of her mouth were easy to say. “Make love to me, please.”_

_And so he did._

_***_

_The morning after started off as a great one. Jo and Alex woke up in each other’s arms with goofy grins on each one of their faces. A part of Jo couldn’t believe that the night before hadn’t been a dream. But sure enough, when she opened her eyes she found herself in Alex’s childhood bedroom on Christmas morning, listening as his light snores filled the room._

_She smiled and leaned over to press a light kiss to his cheek. Alex moved in his sleep and wrinkled his face as he slowly began to wake up. Jo looked down at the confused expression on his face, “Good morning.”_

_Alex rubbed a hand over his face, “Hold on, that was real? I wasn’t just having a really good dream?”_

_Jo laughed, “It was real.”_

_“Thank God, because I really want to continue what we started last night,” Alex wore a smug grin as he pulled Jo’s naked frame closer to his. “What do you say we skip breakfast? Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve got all I need right here.”_

_“Alex!” Jo shrieked in laughter as she slapped his shoulder. “We can’t. Your family is definitely awake right now and your little sister could bust in here any minute.”_

_“Ugh, I forgot we’re in Iowa,” Alex groaned. “I should’ve booked a hotel.”_

_“Oh stop it,” Jo rolled her eyes. “You weren’t going to book a hotel when you had a perfectly good bed right here. Besides, staying here with your family just means that you and I get to sleep together, in this small bed where we are practically forced to huddle for warmth, every night. And I don’t know about you, but I can think of tons of ways to take advantage of that.”_

_“I like the way you think,” Alex leaned down and kissed Jo, allowing his hands to roam her body. They kept that up for a few moments before things got a little heated. Alex was just about to roll over on top of Jo when the door swung open._

_“Oh my! I’m so sorry,” Helen stuttered as she stood in shock in the doorway. She looked around nervously before closing the door and continuing what she was going to say from the outside. “I’m sorry, kids. I just--I wanted to let you know that Amber is downstairs making pancakes for breakfast and they should be ready in a few minutes. She wanted me to come get you so you could come down before they get cold. But um… I can tell her that you guys are still… sleeping or something.” With that, the pair heard as Helen walked away, her footsteps getting fainter by the second._

_Alex and Jo had immediately separated when the door opened and were now wearing equally mortified expressions on their faces. Jo looked over at Alex with wide eyes only to find his face tainted with embarrassment. Out of all the people who could’ve walked in on the two of them, it had to be his mother._

_“Oh fuck.”_

_“Holy shit.”_

_The two cursed simultaneously. It took them each a moment to process what had just happened and what it meant._

_“Oh my God, Alex. Your mother! Your mother just walked in on us, naked, in your bed, about to have sex!” Jo flopped back down onto the pillow._

_“I know,” Alex grimaced as he mirrored Jo and flopped down on his side of the bed. “This might just be my worst nightmare.”_

_They laid there for a moment in silence, each one trying to figure out how they could possibly show their faces downstairs after what had occurred. Alex and Jo finally made eye contact after minutes of laying there in discomfort. Almost immediately, the two burst into laughter._

_Struggling to catch their breaths, the two decided to get up and get dressed. What was done was done, and they had to move on with the fact that Helen had caught them in a very unfortunate set of circumstances._

_When they finally walked downstairs, Alex and Jo did their best to avoid eye contact with Helen and kept their heads down, worrying about the pancakes in front of them instead. Noticing the lack of dialogue, Aaron made a face, “What’s up with you two?”_

_“Nothing,” Alex attempted a nonchalant shrug._

_Amber raised her eyebrow, “Only people who have something to hide say nothing when asked something.” She narrowed her eyes at the pair, who were desperately trying to ignore the uncomfortable glances that Helen was sending their way. “Mom said that you two were sleeping when she went upstairs to wake you up. But when she came back, she looked all uncomfortable. So, why are all three of you acting all weird?”_

_“Maybe she caught them having sex,” Aaron teased as he took a bite of his pancake._

_When no one answered, Aaron’s eyes bulged, “No freaking way.”_

_“Mom caught you guys having sex?” Amber exclaimed. “I knew it! Aaron, you owe me ten bucks.”_

_“We were not having sex,” Alex shook his head at his siblings._

_“That’s not what it looked like from where I was standing,” Helen muttered under her breath._

_Jo looked like she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her, “Technically, we weren’t having sex.”_

_“Is that what the kids are saying nowadays?” Helen raised her eyebrows. “Whatever. As long as you two are being safe and having fun, that’s all that matters, right?”_

_“So… are you two together now or what?” Amber asked the question that everyone had been wondering._

_Alex looked over at Jo and smiled softly. He placed his arm around her shoulder and planted a tender kiss on her forehead, “Yeah. We are.”_

_“Alex in an actual relationship?” Aaron grinned. “It really is a Christmas miracle.”_

_About two seconds later, there was half a pancake on Aaron’s face._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was one of our favorites for sure!


	4. part four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> first fights and relationship reveals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we figured after last night, everyone would desperately need this

———

#  **(April 2007)**

“Come on… pick up. Pick up the phone Alex… please,” Jo mumbled to herself as she tried to get ahold of her boyfriend. It had been days since they had last spoken. She’d been trying to get ahold of him for the past half hour and was failing miserably. There was a ferry boat crash in Seattle and all she wanted to know was that he was one of the doctors treating the injured and not lying on a hospital bed somewhere or worse, at the bottom of the Sound. 

Her eyes watered as the phone went to voicemail again, “Alex. Please pick up the phone. I know you’re still upset with me over the fight we had a few days ago, but please, please answer my calls. I just… I need to know that you’re alive. I need to know that you’re okay. You don’t have to say anything, just let me know that you’re saving lives and not one of the lives that needs saving.” 

Jo hung up the call and leaned her head against the wall. She attempted to take a few calming breaths, but the tears fell anyway. She slid down the wall and sat on the kitchen floor crying for a few minutes until she heard a commotion at the door. 

“Hey! I went to the store after I got out of the library and I found these really cool little soap dispensers that I think would look great in the bathroom,” Lexie said as she walked into the apartment. She continued talking about the things she’d purchased when she saw Jo in tears on the kitchen floor. Lexie rushed over to where her friend was sitting and crouched down, “Jo! What happened? What’s wrong?”

“I… Alex,” Jo struggled to catch her breath. “I can’t… I can’t get a hold of Alex. Your family answered, but Alex isn’t answering and sometimes he takes the ferry to work… We had a fight. We had a bad fight three days ago and we haven’t spoken since then. It was so bad, Lexie… I told him that I was seriously considering Mass Gen for residency after I interviewed there and he started talking about how this wasn’t what we agreed on. 

“I got mad at him because he doesn’t get to decide where I go. He said that he gets a say because he wasn’t going to spend the next five years in a long distance relationship with me. That’s when I said he needed to stop trying to find excuses to break up with me, that if he didn’t want to be with me, to just tell me and I’d be out of his hair. I said that I should’ve known it wasn’t going to last. Guys like him never really change. Then, I told him that maybe we weren’t worth it. I just… I need him to be okay. I can’t let those be the last words he heard me say because of course we’re worth it.” 

“Hey, Jo calm down,” Lexie wrapped her arms around Jo’s shoulders. “I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably just super busy making sure everyone else is okay. He’ll call you soon.”

“But what if he doesn’t call? What if he’s okay and he doesn’t call because of what I said? I said ‘guys like him.’ I basically implied that he was a bad guy. He’s not a bad guy. He’s one of the best people I know,” Jo cried and buried her head in her hands. “I don’t want to never see him again.” 

“That’s not going to happen,” Lexie assured. “I knew Alex before you did and let me tell you, I have never seen him like this with anyone. He loves you. He wouldn’t ghost you and he wouldn’t let this be the thing that comes between you guys. Just wait a couple hours before you freak out and scour the missing persons list.” 

The next few hours were torture. Jo switched between staring at her phone and pacing the small apartment. Lexie tried her best to calm her, but everytime her phone sounded Jo would jump and then immediately burst into tears when it wasn’t Alex. 

Finally, almost six hours after she had first called Alex, Jo’s phone rang. She picked up immediately, her voice sounding desperate as she prayed to hear her boyfriend's voice on the other end, “Alex? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Oh thank god,” Jo brought her hand up to muffle her relieved cries as she relished in the sound of Alex on the other line. “I saw the news. You take the ferry sometimes. I thought you were dead.”

“Babe I’m fine, I was just doing triage. I’m okay,” Alex sighed, listening to Jo’s cries. “I’m okay, Jo. I swear, I’m fine. Listen, I’m sorry about the other day. I…”

“Don’t start, I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry Alex I was mad and I said things I shouldn’t have,” Jo wiped at her tears as she let out a small laugh. “Leave it to us to need a freak accident to make us talk again.”

There was a stretch of silence then, Alex’s breathing the only thing Jo could hear as she sunk into the couch. The lack of response from her boyfriend scared her, but Jo waited until he finally spoke again, “Jo I swear, I didn’t mean what I said the other day. If you wanna stay in Boston and work at Mass Gen, then I’ll make the distance work. I just… I don’t wanna lose you, ever.”

“Alex, I spent all of today thinking you were dead or you hated me so much that you were never going to speak to me again,” Jo sniffled, eyes floating to the ceiling as she let a few tears flow down her face. “I do love Mass Gen but I love you more. And I don’t want to spend the next five years coordinating our schedules so we can see each other once a month. I want everything. I want a great big giant career, but I never want to go anywhere without you.”

The line went silent again, save for the occasional sniffle from both parties as they let themselves sit with the fact that they did still have a future together. Alex heaved a sigh, his voice low and rough as he tried to hold back his tears, “God I wish you were here. Today has been hell… you don’t even know the half of it.”

Jo laid across the couch, eyes closed as she listened to Alex recount his long and eventful day. She too wished that they didn’t have an entire country between them, but she knew that just a few months from now she’d be able to climb into bed next to Alex instead of calling him and laying in her cold bed. 

  
  


———

#  **_(January 2004)_ **

_ Jo thinks that going to Iowa might’ve been the best thing that’s ever happened to her. After a week of Alex’s family teasing both of them, the newly formed couple drove back to Boston just a week shy of their classes resuming. Lexie wasn’t due back until two days before the term started, which meant that Jo and Alex were spending all of their free time enjoying the silent apartment.  _ _  
_ _  
_ _ She’d never had this much sex in her entire life, Jo thought, as Alex pressed her against the cool tile of her shower and let his lips trail down her neck. Every room in the tiny apartment she shared with Lexie had been used in one way or another for their sex marathon and honestly she couldn’t complain about it. With two days left until her roommate returned, Jo didn’t think that her and Alex stood a chance at leaving the apartment anytime soon.  _

_ “Stop it, I have to wash my hair,” Jo begrudgingly pushed Alex back, her eyes meeting his as water droplets dripped down his face. “Don’t give me that look, I came in here to shower and you followed me in. I didn’t ask for this.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ For his part, Alex did step aside and let Jo lather her hair with shampoo. His hands, however, immediately found their way to her hips, fingers drawing patterns on the smooth skin as he watched Jo, “Are you complaining? Should I stop having sex with you?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “I didn’t say that,” Jo’s voice came out much higher pitched than she had anticipated, bringing out a low chuckle from Alex as he moved his hands further down. “If you don’t move your hands, I’m gonna get soap in my eyes and then I’ll be mad.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Oh come on, don-” _

_ “Jo? You home?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Alex and Jo both froze at the sound of Lexie’s voice ringing through the apartment. She wasn’t supposed to be home, if she was Alex certainly wouldn’t be here. The new couple had decided to keep their relationship quiet for a while, not wanting to jinx anything after their unconventional start. They’d both agreed on their drive home to keep things from Lexie, but it seemed like that might be harder than expected.  _

_ “Um I’m in the shower,” Jo called out, eyes meeting Alex’s in a panic as he motioned for her to stop talking. “What? She would’ve figured that out anyways!” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ The bathroom door creaked open and Jo peaked her head around the shower curtain to look at Lexie, “Hey sorry I didn’t call, but Seattle was expecting like six inches of snow tomorrow so I took the first available flight to Boston. How was Iowa? Did Alex behave himself?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Yes it was totally uneventful, Alex was perfectly fine, great in fact,” Jo reached a hand behind her to swat at Alex’s hand that was trying to wander places it definitely shouldn’t. “He’s back in his apartment already, he’s called like four times complaining about his roommates. So yeah! Everything’s back to the way it’s always been. Nothing… new.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Lexie narrowed her eyes, watching Jo intently for a moment longer before shrugging her shoulders and straightening up, “Okay well I’m gonna go unpack and run downstairs to do laundry. Oh and Alex?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Yeah?” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Your boxers are on the couch,” Lexie grinned at Jo, stifling a laugh as Alex peaked his head out from the other side of the shower curtain. “Jamie from chem lab owes me $50, thanks guys.” _ _  
  
_

_ The bathroom door closed then, Alex and Jo meeting each other’s stares before bursting out into loud laughter. Alex snaked his arms around Jo’s waist, his lips finding hers as her fingers curled into his wet hair, “Well, at least we don’t have to be quiet tonight.” _ __  
_  
_ __ “You have a one track mind I swear.”


	5. part five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jo's going through something and Alex is going to figure out what it is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy reading part five!! let us know what you think in the comments!

———

#  **(May 2007)**

Seattle Grace is a disaster zone full of lovesick, horny patients and doctors. It’s like Alex cannot turn a corner without finding someone hooking up or getting hit on. At first, he thinks he’s imagining things because there’s no way that Doctor Montgomery is staring at him like he’s a fresh piece of meat and she’s a hungry lion. They see each other almost everyday as he helps Ava recover and everyday the woman stares him down like she wants to jump him. 

And that’s another thing, he was pretty sure that Ava is trying to hit on him too. He knew he was good looking and that his rare soft side has been on full display lately, but for fuck’s sake even his patients? Ava was easier to handle than Addison, but both women were giving him a run for his money. 

“You know, I think she’s trying to get in your pants,” Ava’s voice startled him as he looked up from her chart, brows furrowing as he looked at her. “Doctor Montgomery. She keeps looking at you with those sex eyes, like if I wasn’t here she’d be all over you.”

_ Well at least he isn’t crazy…  _ Alex heaved a sigh and closed the chart, meeting Ava’s eyes with a smirk, “She can stare all she wants, I am off the market and not interested in one of my superiors dragging me into a supply closet for a quick hookup.”   
  


He could tell Ava was shocked. Who in this death trap isn’t by the fact that Doctor Evil Spawn is tied down? She paused for a moment before a laugh came out, eyes falling to her hands that lay over her swollen belly, “Figures, I knew you were too handsome to be single. Does she work here too? It seems like everyone in this hospital is screwing.”   
  
“No she’s back in Boston, she’ll be here in a few weeks though,” just saying the words out loud makes Alex’s heart flutter. Both Jo and Lexie had been accepted to the next class of interns at Seattle Grace, meaning that as soon as they walked across the stage in June they’d be flying across the country to Seattle. “It’s been too damn long, we’ve been doing long distance for almost a year now.”   
  
“A year? Do you see her ever? I’m sure you’re super busy here,” Ava seemed genuinely curious about Alex and Jo’s relationship, a refreshing take compared to his friends that only asked if he was getting laid or not. 

“Yeah we’ve both been out to see each other a few times. I just went there in March actually. It’s not enough, though. It’s not the same,” his mind now occupied with thoughts of his girlfriend, Alex said goodbye to Ava and left her room. He wasn’t even through the doorway of an on-call room before he dialed Jo’s number and waited for her to answer. “Hey you, how’s your day?”   
  
“Fine.”   
  
The one word answer stopped Alex’s heart. Usually, Jo was more than ready to rant about classes or tell him something exciting that she saw on campus. Instead, her monotone voice and lack of words scared him. 

“What’s wrong princess? Bad day?”   
  
“No it’s just been long,” Jo sighed, her voice seeming even further away. “I have a headache, that’s all.”   
  
“I’m sorry babe, if it makes you feel better, one of my patients thinks that my boss is trying to screw me,” Alex’s voice was light hearted as he tried to cheer Jo up, but her frustrated sigh on the other end of the line told him that she didn’t find the situation amusing. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought it was a funny story but-”   
  
“I gotta go, I’ll call you later,” the line went dead before Alex could say anything else, leaving him to stare down at the phone in his hands in shock. No matter how angry or upset his girlfriend has been she’d never hung up on him like that, not even during their big blowout fight a few weeks before. 

So he did the only thing he could think of and decided to call Lexie. The phone went to voicemail twice before it was answered, “Alex what’s going? I’m at work.”

“Hey, Lexie. I’m sorry, but is Jo okay?” 

“What?” Lexie scrunched her face. “That’s why you’re calling me? I have to get back to the lab.”

“Don’t hang up! It’s just… I called her a few minutes ago and she was acting weird. She was giving me short answers and then she hung up on me. She sounded stressed and nervous. Not school stressed either. I’m worried,” Alex explained. 

“I know you two have been together for years, but it still kind of freaks me out whenever I hear you talk like this… Now that you mention it though, Jo has been acting off. Normally she’s really chatty in the evenings, but lately she’s been distracted.”

"Did something happen?" Alex asked.

"Not that I know of… should I get off work early and go check on her?"

"No, it's fine. I'll take care of it. Thanks Lexie," Alex hung up the phone and decided to look for Bailey.

After a few minutes of running around the hospital, he finally found Bailey sitting behind the nursing station giving Izzie some instructions about a patient's post-op care, "Dr. Bailey can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Say what you need to say, Karev. Stevens and I are very busy today. I don't have time to waste," Bailey replied without looking up from her charts. 

Alex looked up at Izzie who just shrugged and motioned for him to speak, "I need the rest of the day off, the next few days actually."

Bailey looked up from the chart she was writing in, an unimpressed expression on her face, "Excuse me?"

"I know we're swamped and I'm on Ava's case, but I really just need a couple days. There's been a family emergency and I need to catch the next flight to Boston," Alex looked at Bailey expectantly.

"Is everything okay?" Izzie asked, concerned. 

"I don't know. I couldn't really get a lot of information over the phone, but I need to get to Boston as soon as possible. Please," Alex waited for a couple seconds for Dr. Bailey's response.

"You are lucky I like you," Bailey mumbled. "Go Karev, get out of here. You have three days. Call me if it's really bad and you need more."

Alex nodded in thanks and ran to the locker room to collect his things. By the time he arrived at the airport, an hour had passed since he left the hospital. He ran up to the ticket counter and asked for the next flight to Boston. It was pricey, but the plane would leave in an hour, meaning Alex had to be quick if he wanted to make it in time for boarding.

The rest of the time in between him getting to Boston was a blur. When his plane touched down, it was midnight on the east coast. He called a cab and hopped in, giving them Jo’s address. It was 12:37am when he finally arrived. Alex walked up the steps to the apartment and knocked on the door. There was a shuffling on the inside before the door opened. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jo’s eyes widened as she opened the door. She looked like shit, her eyes were red and puffy and she was dressed in one of Alex’s dark blue flannels and some pajama shorts. 

“I was worried about you, you didn’t sound okay when I called,” Alex watched Jo’s bottom lip tremble as she held back tears, his hands coming up to hold her shoulders as she looked up at her. “Jo, what’s wrong?”

Jo tried to open her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead a sob broke from her throat, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks as Alex pulled her into his embrace. His hands rubbed her back slowly as he attempted to quiet her sobs. 

“Jo what’re you- Alex? What the hell,” Alex looked up and met Lexie’s eyes behind Jo, hers softening as she glanced at her friend who was still crying. “She wouldn’t tell me anything, she’s been crying on and off since I got home.” 

“Come on babe, let’s get you to bed,” Alex pulled back from Jo just long enough to hook his arms under her legs so he could carry her to her bedroom. She made no protests as she nuzzled further into Alex’s chest, her silence throwing him off as they settled into bed together. “I’ll be here in the morning, you just sleep.”

Jo’s sobs had turned into sniffles as she pressed her face into the crook of Alex’s neck. She was never a big cuddler when they would sleep together, most of the time Alex would be fighting her for room on the mattress as she starfished across it. That’s how Alex could tell something wasn’t right, the way that Jo was curled up into a ball pressed as close to him as possible told him everything he needed to know. 

Somewhere around 3am, Alex felt Jo poke him in the side. He opened his eyes and looked at the face of the woman he loved only to find her usual joyful demeanor replaced with one of fear. He watched as Jo took a deep breath, “We need to go to the store.”

“The store? For what? Jo, it’s three in the morning. Is anything even open right now?” Alex furrowed his brow. 

“There’s a twenty-four hour CVS a couple blocks away,” Jo lifted her head from its place on Alex’s chest and moved to get out of bed. “I just really need to get something from the store.” 

“Jo, the store can wait. We can go in a few hours,” Alex tried reasoning with her.

“It can’t wait!” Jo exclaimed as tears began to trickle down her face again. “It can’t wait Alex. We need to go right now.”

“Okay, we’ll go now. Just calm down for me,” Alex placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to get dressed. Give me two minutes.” 

By the time they arrived at CVS, it was 3:23am. Alex made a move to exit the car when Jo placed a hand on his arm, “No! Stay here. I’ll go alone.” 

“What? No, Jo it’s three in the morning. I’m not letting you go into the store alone,” Alex protested. 

“There’s nobody here. I will be fine,” Jo opened the car door. “Besides, I know how to take care of myself. I’ll be back in five minutes.” 

Alex was extremely confused. He had no idea what the hell was wrong with his girlfriend, but he knew it wasn’t good. In the years he’d known her, Alex had never seen her like this. He tried racking his brain for any possible thing that could’ve led her to acting like this but he came up blank. 

Jo entered the car with a plastic bag in her hands, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked over at her, “You good?”

“Yeah,” Jo’s voice and face despondent. “Just drive the car.”

“Okay…”

As they walked back into her apartment, Alex gave Jo a worried look. She’d been silent the entire car ride and Alex basically had to drag her up the stairs to the apartment. He sighed, “Jo, come on. It’s been hours since I got here and you still haven’t told me anything. I left the hospital early and asked for the next three days off because I know you are not okay. I know something is wrong and I’m worried about you. Please, I love you. I am here. Let me help you.” 

Wiping a couple stray tears from her face, Jo pulled Alex into the bathroom and locked the door. She handed him the bag containing what she’d just purchased from CVS. 

Alex’s eyes widened as he removed what was inside the bag, “Holy shit.”

“Yeah,” Jo swallowed nervously. She leaned against the sink and closed her eyes. “Now you know why I’m acting so weird… I’m freaking out here, Alex.” 

Alex looked from the unopened pregnancy test box in his hand back to Jo, “It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine Jo. You’re going to take the test and I’m going to be right here the entire time. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what this test says.”

“Can you just… go in the hallway while I pee,” Jo’s voice was quiet and far away as she looked up at Alex. Their eyes met and they both took in the same expression of fear that the other wore. 

Alex nodded and left the bathroom, sliding down the wall of the hallway as he waited for what seemed to be forever for Jo to finish. His mind was racing, heart hammering in his chest as he played the last two months over in his head. If Jo was… it had to have happened when he came out in March. They’d been careful, they were  _ always  _ careful, but the trip had been short and sweet and they’d spent most of their time in bed. 

“It says wait three minutes,” Alex is startled out of his train of thought by Jo’s voice, her figure now standing in front of him with a solemn expression. She had thrown on one of his Iowa State sweatshirts in her haste to get out the door, the fabric hanging loosely off her body as she sat on the ground and dragged herself into Alex’s waiting arms. “I’m scared, Alex.”

“Hey if it is positive you’re already heading to Seattle in a few weeks anyways. We can work it out,” Alex brushed his fingers through Jo’s hair as he pulled her close, his lips pressing into her forehead. “I love you, no matter what happens I’m always gonna love you.”

Jo nodded her head, but didn’t speak anymore. Alex felt terrible, she’d probably been carrying this around for a few days by herself while he was clueless on the other side of the country. The past year had been hell on earth for him, but he took a little comfort in the fact that in just a few short weeks they’d be waking up next to each other again. 

“I’m late, like stupid late, and I haven’t been able to keep food down all week,” Jo’s voice was muffled as she pressed herself further in Alex’s chest, his fingers rubbing against her back in slow circles as her breathing became more erratic. “I’m so freaking stupid, I can’t believe this. I’m so dumb.”

Brows furrowed, Alex looked down at his girlfriend in worry. He’d never seen her this upset about something, leading him to believe that an unexpected pregnancy wasn’t the only thing clouding her mind at the moment, “You’re not stupid, I was there too. If anything I’m the stupid one.”

Jo sniffled, one hand coming up to wipe at her cheeks as she met Alex’s gaze. He’d never seen her so devoid of emotion, her face blank as she blinked up at him, “I’m ruining your life. I should’ve just let you go to Seattle without being tied to me because now you’re gonna be stuck with me and all this shit. You don’t deserve any of this.”

Alex’s face softened, his hands coming up to cradle Jo’s face tenderly. She was sitting here waiting for the results of a pregnancy test and she was worried about him instead of herself. 

“Babe, you didn’t ruin anything, you never could. I’m not here because you’re forcing me to, I’m here because I want to be and because I love you,” brushing back her hair, Alex leaned his forehead against Jo’s. “No matter what happens, nothings going to change how I feel about you. Okay?”

“Can… Can you go look? Please.”

Rising from the floor, Alex walked into the bathroom and stared down at the three tests laying across the counter. Hands braced on the countertop, he let out a sigh as he looked back to Jo. 

“Negative. All three are negative.”

Jo released the breath she had been holding, “Oh thank God… okay… okay.”

Alex stood silent for a moment and watched as Jo allowed a few tears to slide down her face. He crouched down next to her, one of the tests in his hands, “See. They’re negative. You’re probably just stressed about finals. It’s all good, we’re okay.”

“I’m relieved that it’s negative. I really am. We can’t handle this right now,” Jo spoke after a couple moments of silence. She looked up at Alex, eyes shining with unshed tears. “But… Is it wrong that I’m a little disappointed, though?”

Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise at her words. He and Jo never really talked about kids. It wasn’t something that was on either one of their radars. They were content with just the two of them. Alex had always assumed that he and Jo would be together until one or both of them died from old age. He didn’t need anything other than to have her by his side. 

On top of all that, he didn’t think Jo wanted kids. Neither of them had very good upbringings, but Jo definitely had it worse than he did. Even though she’d never verbalized it, he knew she was afraid of being a bad mom to their hypothetical child. He supposed it was similar to the fear he had about being a horrible father, given his own history with crappy dads. 

Alex's mouth twitched slightly, "It's not wrong. There's nothing wrong with feeling disappointed."

"I know, but we've never talked about it," Jo shrugged one shoulder. "I didn't even know I wanted it until just now. I've never thought about it. I've always assumed that I'd never find someone who'd want to do that with me." 

That's when Alex understood. Even after three years, Jo still expected that one day he'd leave her. She thought that one day, he'd find someone better—as if that person existed—and she'd be alone. Jo didn't understand the concept of forever, she'd never had anyone stick around. It was a bit of a wake up call for him. Alex realized that he'd never been clear with his intentions. 

“I guess this is my fault,” Alex rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath. “I’ve never said my intentions out loud because I thought they were all so obvious. I didn’t think they needed to be vocalized, but I’m not going anywhere. This ‘someone who would want to do that with you’ you thought you’d never find is me, Jo. I want it all with you. You are my home, and I never wanna go anywhere without you, do you hear me?” 

Alex lifted Jo’s chin to make sure she was looking into his eyes. He noticed hers were full of tears and knew it was probably because nobody had ever said that to her before. Pulling her closer, he placed a kiss on her head, “And you don’t need to feel guilty about being disappointed.” 

He moved his head so their foreheads touched, “Someday, when the right time comes, we’re gonna have a family to call our own. Until then, it’ll be just us, but we won’t need anybody else. We’re the only family we need, right? You and me,” Alex smiled, earning a smile and a chuckle from her. “We’re gonna have it all, Jo” he said. 

“Someday,” Jo looked at him from the corner of her eyes with a shy smile. 

Alex pulled her into a meaningful kiss, “Someday.”


	6. part six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> moving in together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tonight's episode was... well if you watched you know what we're talking about. Anyway we figured you might need this. Happy reading :)

———

  
  


#  **_(June 2004)_ **

  
  


_“You’re absolutely positive about this?” Lexie asked as she taped up another box. “No doubts? Because if you freak out, you know you can always move back in with me.”_

_“Yes, Lexie I’m sure,” Jo smiled. “I really appreciate you trying to look out for me, but I’m ready. I’m excited to move in with Alex. This is a huge step for me and I really need your support.”_

_“You have my support. I’m happy for you, really happy for you. You of all people deserve this,” Lexie stood up from her place on the floor and picked up the box she’d just finished packing. “Okay, well that was the last box. Let’s get you out of here and into your new place.”_

_Soon after, the two friends arrived at the apartment that Jo and Alex had signed a lease on. It was a cozy one bedroom, second floor apartment about two blocks away from where Lexie lived. The majority of her things were already at their new place, Alex had come by earlier that day to transport her larger items to the apartment in his truck. There wasn’t much left to move and it’s not like Jo had many things to begin with._

_“Honey I’m hoooome,” Jo pushed the door of the apartment, a box in hand as she walked through to the still fairly empty living room. “Alex? You here?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Hey you,” Alex peeked his head out from the bedroom, a grin lighting up his face as he spotted his girlfriend. “You need help with anything?”_

_“Nope, I only had a few boxes left and Lexie helped me carry them up before she left,” Jo set the box in her hands down before walking over to Alex and kissing him. “Wow, it actually looks nice in here.”_

_“What? Did you think you’d get here and this place would be a dump?”_

_“No, I just… usually we would hang out at my place. I just realized that I never actually saw where you lived before signing the lease on our new apartment,” Jo stuffed her hands in her pockets and leaned against the wall._

_“Now, that place was a dump. My roommates were disgusting. Be glad you never stepped foot in there,” Alex walked up towards her and placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head._

_She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I'm kind of nervous. I've never done this before. I never leave more than a toothbrush and pair of underwear at someone's house."_

_"I know. I haven't either, so I guess we're doing this together," Alex smiled at Jo coyly. "What do you say we christen our new house?"_

_"I can be into that," Jo’s gaze darkened and she squealed as Alex threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom._

———

#  **(June 2007)**

"Hi," Jo grinned brightly as Alex wrapped his arms around her outside the airport arrival terminals. "Can you believe that this is the last time you're picking me up at the airport?"

"Trust me, I'm very excited that I never have to drop you off for an extended period of time again," Alex leaned in and kissed Jo, grabbing the bags in her hands. "Come on, let's go home."

They arrived outside an apartment complex across the street from the hospital. Jo looked over at Alex quizzically, “I thought you were living at Meredith’s?”

“I was. It was great and the rent was cheap, but I didn’t feel like having Mer and Izzie and Cristina all up in my business. Which is exactly what would happen if you suddenly moved all your stuff into the house,” Alex explained as he guided her through the building. “Come on, I already brought most of the boxes you shipped inside.”

“Huh, should I be worried about all the women you’ve been living with?” Jo teased. “Are any of them, I don’t know, in love with you?”

“Please,” Alex scoffed. “Yang just got left at the altar a week ago by her fiancé, Meredith is in love with Shepherd, and Izzie’s doing it with O’Malley—who’s married.”

“Woah, back it up,” Jo eyes widened. “You didn’t think to tell me that Yang got left at the altar?”

“In my defense, I left the wedding before it happened because my patient Ava—I mean, Rebecca was getting discharged from the hospital that day. So, I didn’t find out until I got back to the house that night and saw Izzie stress baking and she spilled everything that had gone down.”

“Stress baking?” 

“Yeah, it’s kind of her thing,” Alex shrugged. “When her fiancé died, she made these killer chocolate muffins.”

“Uh huh,” Jo nodded. “And now she’s having sex with George? Married George?”

“Yeah… I’m trying my best not to judge because we all know I’m not a saint. I’ve cheated on girlfriends before, I’ve been the guy who slept with a married woman, but it’s different. I was a kid back then. And I certainly didn’t do it with the intention to break up a marriage. She’s actually trying to break up O’Malley and Torres, because she’s what? In love with him?” Alex shook his head. “Well, that girl falls in and out of love quickly.”

Jo eyed Alex curiously for a moment as they stepped onto the elevator, “You haven’t cheated on me, right? You’d tell me if you had?”

“No, of course not,” Alex looked at Jo with wide eyes. “We’ve known each other for a million years, do you really think I’m like that?”

“I know you’re not,” Jo leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I trust you.”

A goofy grin spread across Alex’s face as he looked at Jo. He’d just seen her the month before, but he was more than thrilled that she was here and that this time there would be no teary goodbye, no more late night and early morning phone calls, no booking cross country flights because he was concerned that she wasn’t feeling well. After a long and torturous year, they were finally reunited for good. 

“I love you,” Jo’s eyes flitted to Alex as he said it, the elevator dinging and letting them off on their floor. “And I’m really freaking happy you’re here. And that we have a whole new apartment to christen.”

Jo let out a laugh as Alex stopped outside their door, hands digging in his pockets to grab his keys and unlock it. She made a move to step through the door, but Alex held his hand out to stop her, “What? Why can’t I go in?”  
  
“I have to carry you over the threshold, you know it’s a stupid new house tradition,” Alex peered into the still empty apartment with a shrug. “It’s definitely not a house, but it’s all ours so I think that counts for something.”

Alex turned back to Jo, who was beaming at him. He quickly grabbed Jo around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder as she giggled, “I’m pretty sure this isn’t how you’re supposed to do it. Also I’m fairly certain that this is a tradition for married couples.”  
  
“Yeah but it makes it easier to carry you to the bedroom so I can have my way with you. And I promise I’ll put a ring on it eventually, I already told you I would,” Alex’s retort brought out more laughter from Jo, her fingers reaching down to pinch Alex’s ass as he continues through the apartment. “Hey! Keep your hands to yourself, at least until I put you down.” 

Jo laughed as Alex lowered her from his shoulder and pressed her against the wall, “Make me.”

“Bad choice of words, princess.” 

*****

A couple days later, Jo and Alex were laying on the floor, basking in the afterglow of their weekend sex marathon when Jo turned in Alex’s arms. 

“You realize we just had sex on the floor, right?” Jo faced Alex, while his arms were around her. 

“Yeah. What about it?” he asked, confused about her question. 

“You know I have no problem with it, but it’s just… we had sex on the floor because there was no other option. There is no furniture in here,” she pointed out. 

“You might have a point,” Alex shrugged. 

“I bought us a couch,” Jo admitted. 

“Wait what?” he sat up. 

“Yes. We can’t have sex on the floor forever, Alex. And, there’s no dining table, chairs, our mattress is lying on the floor, for crying out loud. How the hell did you survive an entire year without me?” she chuckled. 

“Well, I had furniture when I first got here, but then I got kicked out of the one place and moved into Mer’s, and she already had furniture,” he shrugged, just then realizing that she had just told him she had bought a couch. “You bought us a couch?” he pulled her closer, his lips brushing over hers. It was only a couch, but it meant something much more important than that to them. 

“I did. It will be delivered tomorrow morning,” Jo smiled. 

“I really don’t know I survived without you,” Alex shook his head. “On the bright side, when the couch gets here we’ll have plenty of opportunities to make use of it.” 

“Hot couch sex?” Jo raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like fun. Count me in.”

“For now, though… I say we continue making use of the floor,” Alex’s hand trailed down Jo’s stomach to the nook between her thighs. 

Jo let out a breathy sigh, “Alex.”

“Yes?” Alex smirked as his fingers began their work, teasing before finally allowing two of his fingers to curl inside her. 

“Don’t stop,” Jo let out a shaky breath. “God, please don’t stop.”

“Wasn’t planning to,” Alex kissed his way down her body, settling between her legs. He lowered his head and breathed over her sex quietly. “You might want to hold onto something.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let us know what you thought and what you hope to see later on!


	7. part seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jo’s first day

#  **(July 2007)**

  
  


"You ready?" Alex asked as he looked at Jo in the passenger seat and Lexie in the back. They were sitting in the hospital parking lot, Jo and Lexie taking in the fact that today was the first day of their intern year. "You don't want to be late on your first day. Trust me, you want to hear Webber's speech. And I don't want to be late to meet my interns."

"Do you guys already know who you have?" Lexie asked. She wasn't originally supposed to come to Seattle. She had a top tier surgical residency waiting for her at Mass Gen, but when her mom died about a month ago, she got rematched at Seattle Grace to be closer to her father. On top of that, Lexie had just found out that she had an older sister who was working in this very hospital.

"No, we find out when you do," Alex shared. "Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Meredith? She's a good person. A bit emotionally stunted, but she's a good friend."

"No, Alex it's fine," Lexie shook her head. "I think she should hear it from me."

"Okay. I'm going to go inside. I'll see you guys later. Maybe if you're lucky you'll be on my service," he leaned over to the passenger seat and gave Jo a peck on the lips before getting out of the car. "Don't forget to lock the door." 

About an hour later, Jo and Lexie were in the locker room, waiting for Webber to share which resident they would be working under. He went through the list of residents and called out interns. 

“Alright everyone listen up. I am going to assign you to a resident. When I call your name, you will go find your resident in the hallway and await instructions. Trimble, Franklin, Morales, and Bozniack you’re with Stevens. Harrison, Allen, O’Malley, Johnson, and Phillips with Grey. Lawrence, Crowley, Vega, Brown, and Grey you’re with Yang. Last but not least, Hernandez, Jenkins, Davis, and Wilson, you’re with Karev.” 

Jo and Lexie exchanged a glance. Jo knew that being on Alex’s service was always a possibility, however, she never thought it would actually happen. That would make things much more difficult than she’d anticipated. Prior to starting, Jo and Alex had agreed to keep their relationship private. Aside from Lexie, no one would know that the two of them were together, so that if Jo got to scrub in on a surgery or was handed a case, it was because she was good and not because she was dating a resident. But what was once a possibility, quickly became a reality, and they were going to have to learn how to deal with this situation if they wanted to keep their relationship private. 

Soon after Webber assigned the interns to their residents, they all left the room, leaving only Jo and the other three residents there. 

Jo was organizing her locker when she heard the others gossiping about Alex. 

“Ughh, what was I even expecting from this? I have the worst luck ever. Of course I was going to end up with the douchiest resident. You guys heard about him, right?” Jenkins complained, Jo’s eyes glued to the objects in front of her. 

“Yeah. His reputation around this place is not the best. I heard he is really good, though. Not everything is lost yet. Let’s wait and see,” Hernandez tried to be positive. 

“I heard that too. Looks like he is really talented and hardworking, but I heard that if you’re not one of them, he will treat you like trash no matter what. One of the residents in his class, that is,” Davis added, making Jo’s heart sink a little. 

If only they knew a bit more about him, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge. She knew that her boyfriend wasn’t the easiest person to deal with and he still had a lot of growing and learning to do, but he had the biggest heart. Hearing the other residents talk about him made Jo sigh. 

“What about you, Wilson? Things aren’t looking good for him already. Dude is already late. First thing he does is make us wait for him. Ever heard anything about the guy?” Jenkins asked Jo, forcing her to pull her head out of the locker and interact with them. 

“Not really, to be honest. Maybe he’s not that bad. I’m not the biggest fan of judging people before actually knowing them. Maybe the three of you can give it a shot? Soothes the soul a bit,” Jo gave them a sarcastic smile after closing the locker aggressively. She knew she shouldn’t be doing that. Getting into arguments with the people she was going to spend the next five years of her life glued to. Especially not that early into the thing, but she wasn’t about to let them say bad things about her boyfriend without giving him a chance. And she wasn’t wrong. They really shouldn’t judge him before knowing nothing but his name. 

“You find him hot, don’t you?” Hernandez smiled at her. "You saw him earlier when Webber was giving us the tour and you thought he was hot."

Jo didn’t want to blatantly lie to them, so she was more than thankful for the moment Alex interrupted and entered the room. 

“Hernandez, Wilson, Jenkins and Davis, come,” he ushered them to get ready. 

Alex guided the four interns to the hall before glancing at his girlfriend, who was supporting a poker face like he had never seen before. Still, he could see through it with ease. His face twitched into a crooked half-smile, causing Jo to roll her eyes ever so slightly.

Although he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t excited about having her closer to him, he was worried that their original plan was going to be even harder than they had thought it would be. Knowing that she was going to be so close in proximity to him after a year of being an entire country apart, was going to severely push his restraint.

“So, I’m Dr. Alex Karev and I’ll be your resident. I have five rules, and you’ll have to use your underdeveloped brains to memorize them,” he started walking after noticing Jo was trying hard not to laugh at the things he was saying, but still keeping a straight face. 

“Rule number one: don’t even think about kissing my ass. It won’t work. I already hate you, and that’s not gonna change. Rule number two: run! Trauma protocol, phone list, pagers, nurses will page you. You will answer every single page at a run. Your first shift starts now. I have no idea how long it will last. It’s not my problem. You should know that. You’re interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain. You run labs, write orders, work until you drop and don’t complain. I am not going to raise whiny babies,” he stopped in front of a door and eyed the four people in front of him before opening it and walking inside the room. “On call rooms. Attendings hog them to sleep or do other things. You will sleep when you can, where you can, and I don’t want to have to 

find any of you doing the nasty anywhere, understand? Rule number three: if I’m sleeping, do not wake me, unless the patient is dying. Four: the dying patient better not be dead when I get there.”

Jo’s eyes shined teasingly as she raised her hand, “You said five rules. That was only four.”

Alex tried not to smirk as his pager went off, “Rule number five: when I move, you move. Let’s go.”

***

Jo’s first shift ended after thirty-six hours. She was completely and utterly exhausted, every muscle in her body protesting as she walked the two blocks from the hospital to her apartment. When she finally made it in the house, Alex was waiting for her with a beer and pizza in hand. He guided her to the couch and helped her sit down.

Jo groaned as her body sank down into the cushions, “I feel like I want to just curl up into a ball on this couch and sleep forever.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Alex chuckled. “I know you’re exhausted, but I need you to eat before you pass out, so take the pizza and beer.”

“I thought you said you hate your interns and that’s not gonna change,” Jo raised her eyebrows. “You’re being awfully nice to me, Dr. Karev. I hope you don’t think that this means I’ll sleep with you. Because even if I wanted to, I think I’m too tired to do anything.”

“Shut up,” Alex rolled his eyes. He looked at her suggestively. “And, you know I don’t mind doing all the work. It might be good for you, ya know? Like a stress reliever. All it will cost you is making sure you get some food in your system.”

“Are you offering to service me?” Jo laughed. This was reason one hundred fifty-seven of why she loved this man. “Is this something you do for all your interns, Dr. Karev?”

“Only the ones I’m in love with,” Alex leaned across the couch for a kiss. “Trust me when I say, I am  _ very _ eager to please you.”

“You’re so dirty!” Jo giggled and pushed his shoulder lightly. “But, I may have to take you up on that offer.”

The pair talked and laughed while they shared their meal. It was nice being able to spend time together again and finally be on the same page. Agreeing to finish their food, they sat there in silence for a while before Jo spoke up again, “Are you sure this isn’t a conflict of interest? Me being your intern?”

“It might be,” Alex sighed. “I have a hard time telling you no, or when to stop because I respect you and I love you. But I also know that going easy on you would only be a disservice to your career, so I’m going to do my best to let you know when you’re in need of improvement.”

“Thank you,” Jo brought her hand up to his face. “I’m really happy that I’m here.”

“So am I,” Alex grinned. “So, what do you say we go to the room and I’ll… help you relax.”

“Three and a half years in and you still have a one track mind,” Jo shook her head, an amused look on her face.

“What can I say?” Alex shrugged. “I have a super hot girlfriend and can’t get enough of her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading Jo’s first shift as an intern. Can’t wait to share what’s next!


	8. part eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on-call rooms and sneaking around

**(July 2007 cont.)**

It had been about two weeks since Jo had started at Seattle Grace and she was loving it. Sure, she was drowning in scut because Alex was not going easy on her, but she was loving it. So far, Jo had scrubbed in on four surgeries and got to observe many more. Out of all the interns, Jo and Lexie had been the ones favored by the attendings. They requested the young interns on their service and gave them many opportunities to learn. As a result, Jo hadn’t really seen Alex at work during the past few weeks. They had been on conflicting schedules and only ever crossed paths briefly in the mornings during rounds. 

So, it wasn’t really a surprise when Jo found herself being pulled into an on-call room and pressed against the door. She gasped as Alex brought her into a breathtaking kiss, “Well, hello to you too.” 

“God, I’ve missed you,” Alex breathed out as his lips trailed down her neck. “Who knew that I’d talk to you less now than I did when you were living in Boston?”

They continued to kiss when Jo remembered something, “Wait. I thought we weren’t supposed to use on-call rooms to have sex. That was one of your rules, wasn’t it?” 

“Screw the rules,” Alex’s hands found their way under her scrub top. “I haven’t gotten to use these on-call rooms for sex, but now that you’re here…” 

“You’re a horrible influence,” Jo shivered as she allowed Alex to remove her top. “But lucky for you, I find it extremely sexy.” 

“You’re talking too much,” Alex’s words are muffled as his lips move from her neck down her chest. “Stop talking Jo.”

Jo thinks she does a good job of not talking as she and Alex quickly undress each other, falling onto the uncomfortable on-call room bed in a tangle of limbs. Their movements are desperate, both of them knowing that one of them would be paged for something soon and wanting to finish what they’d started. Try as she might though, Jo couldn’t keep her moans quiet.

“Mmm Alex,” Jo threw her head back as Alex picked up his pace above her, his teeth coming down to bite at her collar bone. “Oh god, don’t stop. Alex…”

  
  
“Shhh you gotta keep it down,” Alex chuckled against her neck as she moaned his name again. “Jo I swear you’re gonna be the death of me.”

  
  
A mischievous smirk appeared on Jo’s face as she used her body weight to flip Alex onto his back, her hips moving in a slow circle that brought out a low moan from Alex, “Who can’t keep quiet now?”

  
  
“I don’t wanna hear anything from you unless it’s my name,” Alex’s voice was a deep growl as his hands slipped to Jo’s hips, a smirk playing onto his face as she did exactly what he’d asked of her.

Ten minutes later, Jo snuck out of the on call room. Or at least she attempted to… 

“You two are so freaking loud,” Lexie was leaning against the opposite wall, an unamused expression on her face as she looked up at Jo. “I heard you down the hall and I’ve been standing here since you disgusting humans started dirty talking to each other. You’re lucky that no one else has walked by, you’re welcome for that by the way.”   
  


Alex peaked his head out of the on call room, smirking at Lexie as he spotted her, “Hey Lexipedia!”

  
  
With a groan and an eye roll thrown in their direction, Lexie left the grinning couple and walked down the hall. Alex and Jo watched in amusement as their friend walked away. Jo looked over at Alex, “So, whose service are you on today?”

Alex let out a puff of laughter, “We just finished having sex and now you wanna make small talk about work?”

“Well, I have to distract myself because if not, I’d drag you back in there for more,” Jo’s eyes darkened. “There’s something about seeing you in scrubs that does wonders for me.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that scrubs kink of yours,” Alex leaned in as he whispered lowly. “I guess we’ll have to take advantage of that another day.”

Jo felt a shiver run down her spine. She was about to open her mouth in a flirty response when they were interrupted by a voice, “Alex!”

The pair jumped, putting some distance between themselves and turned to find a young blonde woman staring at them questioningly. She ran up and let out a breath as she faced Alex, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. We’ve got that surgery with Sloan and Shepherd in an hour.” 

“Iz! Yeah, I’m coming. I was… busy,” Alex explained.

“Uh huh,” Izzie looked back and forth between the two individuals in front of her. “Who’s this?”

“Jo Wilson,” Jo extended her hand. “I’m one of Dr. Karev’s interns.”

“Hmm, well, it’s nice to meet you Wilson,” Izzie shook Jo’s hand. She looked back at Alex. “We really gotta go. You coming?”

“Yeah. I’m right behind you,” Alex assured as he cast an apologetic glance toward Jo. He followed Izzie down the hallway and sighed, noticing her pursed lips. “Say what you want to say.”

“What?”

“You make that face when you have an opinion on something and are trying hard not to say it. Just spit it out and say it,” Alex huffed as Izzie came to a halt in the middle of the hallway. 

“Is that a hickey on your neck?” Izzie placed both hands on her hips and stared him down. “And don’t even think about trying to lie to me.”

Alex brought his hand up to neck and shrugged nervously, “Yeah… I guess it is. My girlfriend is in town and we—ya know? You guys call her Dracula for a reason.” 

It wasn’t a lie, Jo was in town. He just hoped his excuse would be enough to get Izzie off his back. Izzie narrowed her eyes at him, still unconvinced, “I’m going to let this go… for now. But if I see you pulling anything shady, I will beat your ass.”

***

“You have to be more careful,” Alex’s voice was muffled by Jo’s lips as they stumbled from the doorway of the on call room towards one of the beds. “Izzie saw the hickey you gave me last week. I had to say my girlfriend was in town.”

Jo pulled back from Alex, whipping her scrub top off to reveal a lacy red bra that made Alex hold back a groan, “But your girlfriend is in town.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re the worst ya know,” Alex leaned back down to capture Jo’s lips, forgoing the bed so he could push her up against the wall. A heavy knock sounded on the door, neither Alex or Jo reacted to it. “Leave it be, they’ll take the hint.”

“Alex! Are you in there,” Cristina’s voice sounded from the other side of the door, making Alex stop what he was doing. “Hello? Evil Spawn?”

Alex sighed, calling out but not moving from his position against Jo, “What do you want Yang? I’m trying to sleep.”

“I need to talk to you,” Cristina sounded impatient, as if whatever she was going to say couldn’t wait. “Pleeeease?”

Alex fixed his shirt and opened the door a crack to look at Cristina. He scowled, "What?"

“Why are you so grumpy?” Cristina rolled her eyes. She tried looking past him into the room. “Can I come in?”

“No,” Alex grunted, making sure to block Jo from view. “I’m trying to sleep and you are disturbing me. Now either tell me what you want or I’m gonna close the door in your face.”

“Geez, Evil Spawn, calm down. If you aren’t going to let me in, then come outside,” Cristina stared Alex down until he conceded and finally exited the on-call room, closing the door behind him quickly. 

From her place inside, Jo pressed her ear up against the door to listen in on the conversation going on outside.

“Is there a point to all of this?” Alex raised his eyebrows, the frown on his face deepening. 

“I know that there’s a woman in the on-call room with you,” Cristina crossed her arms in front of her body. “I saw Three’s little friend walk in there about two minutes before you did.”

“Who?” 

“Three? Mer’s little sister that came out of nowhere?” Cristina clarified. She narrowed her eyes. “She’s always hanging out with that hairball--I don’t remember her name right now. Anyway, I saw her walk into the on-call room. Then I saw you walk in. Which wouldn’t have been an issue, except imagine my surprise when five minutes went by and you still hadn’t walked out.”

“So, what? I can’t sleep in the same on-call room as some intern?” Alex shook his head. “What the hell is your problem?”

“Not when the intern you’re sharing an on-call room with is the same intern that Izzie told us you were flirting with last week.” 

“Oh my God, freaking Izzie,” Alex rubbed a hand over his face. “There’s nothing going on between me and my intern. I have a girlfriend that I love. She’s the only one I’d have sex with. Is that all?”

“Fine. I just wanted to remind you to think with your brain and not your dick. You can go back to sleep,” Cristina nodded curtly.

Jo--who’d been listening in on the conversation--giggled quietly on the other side of the door. She found it endearing that Alex’s friends were ready to keep him accountable. It was heart-warming to know that they took time out of their days to make sure that he wasn’t cheating on her despite never having met her. She jumped slightly when the door opened up again, revealing Alex’s exasperated face.

He shut the door behind him and locked it, “Where were we?”

“Mmm right about the part where you don’t sleep with your interns I think,” Alex let a low growl out as he wrapped his arms around Jo and pressed her against the wall, a giggle coming from her as his hands wandered down to tug at her scrub pants. “You know I wore a matching set just for you…”

  
  
“You’re lucky we’re at work otherwise I’d make you scream.”


	9. part nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the secret is out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in less than twenty-four hours?! happy thanksgiving to all of our American friends and happy birthday to Ren! this one is for you ;)

**(July 2007 cont.)**

Alex had just sat down with his lunch, ready to enjoy a silent 30 minutes to himself when three trays clattered down on the table next to him. A groan left him as he looked up at Izzie, Meredith, and Cristina, all of whom were now sitting at his table and glaring at him.

“What did I do now? Did I look at my intern for three and half seconds too long,” Alex rolled his eyes as he set down his burger, looking to the women who were still glaring silently at him. “Oh come on, you guys can’t seriously be that invested in my relationship can you?”   
  
“You said your girlfriend is moving here soon, we just want to make sure you’re thinking straight is all,” Meredith shrugged as if the statement was casual, but her facial expression told a different story. “All you could talk about for the past year was Dracula and now that Wilson showed up here we haven’t heard a single thing.”   
  
Struggling to hold back his laughter, Alex looked between the three again, realizing that they were serious, “Guys come on, you can’t actually think I’m cheating on my girlfriend with a hot intern.”

“So you think she’s hot! I knew it, you guys have been way too flirty for just friends,” Izzie’s accusatory tone made Alex laugh out loud, her eyes narrowing in his direction. “You think this is funny? Do you really wanna throw away a perfectly good relationship for some on call room hookup?”

“No because I’m not,” Alex stood up, grabbing his tray and turning to leave his friends. If he were honest, he was getting kind of annoyed with their prying and prodding into his relationship with Jo. “Keep your noses out of my business, I’m a grown up and I can handle myself.”

Izzie, Meredith, and Cristina watched Alex leave the cafeteria, anger clearly visible on his face. Once he was out of earshot, Cristina spoke up, “He can’t be that angry over nothing, he’s gotta be hiding something to be that upset that we talked to him.”   
  
“Talked to who?”   
  
All three sets of eyes turned to Jo, who was now standing next to their table. She’d overheard the tail end of Alex’s conversation with the women and decided to do some investigating of her own. She knew that the constant questions from his friends were bothering Alex, but he wasn’t going to say anything to her about it.

“Hairball, come sit with us,” Cristina’s voice took on an unusually peppy tone as she smiled up at Jo. “Tell us, how are you liking being on Evil Spawn’s service? Is he… nice to his interns?”   
  
“He’s okay, not the douchebag that people make him out to be,” Jo shrugged as she sat in the seat Alex had just vacated, popping a fry into her mouth. “He’s a very… hands on teacher.”

The look that spread across Cristina, Meredith, and Izzie’s faces was priceless. It took everything for Jo not to laugh at them, instead she waited for Meredith to speak, “Interesting… he’s seemed distracted lately, his girlfriend was in town last week.”   
  


“Wait. He has a girlfriend?” Jo asked, pretending to be surprised by the information. “I did see a little something on the side of his neck. Was it a hickey?”

The shocked expressions turned to confusion as Izzie prodded more, “Hmm yeah that’s why we call her Dracula. They’re  _ very  _ committed to each other. It’s kind of disgusting how much he talks about her actually.” She said, having another bite of her lunch. 

“Dracula? Huh, makes me wonder why he never mentioned her,” Jo’s pager went off, making her stand from the table in a rush. “I have to go. Hope we can finish this conversation with you some other time” she said before leaving. 

“He didn’t say anything about his girlfriend to her?” Meredith opened her eyes in shock. “He always talks about his girlfriend to anyone who’s willing to listen.”

“Was that Karev’s intern right there?” a voice behind them said, making the three women turn around to find Bailey standing there holding a tray. 

“Yeah. Wilson. She’s on his service,” Izzie explained, grabbing another fry and putting it in her mouth. She didn’t have to talk if her mouth was full. Bailey sat down, joining them. 

“That man has been acting too suspicious for my liking when someone mentions that girl,” their mentor said, shaking her head. “I don’t like it.”

“Right? I saw the two of them practically walk into an on call room together. Tried to get in, he would not let me through the door,” Cristina said. 

“That can’t be good. Especially now. I bet his girlfriend is moving here just because of him, and he’s just messing around with that girl? Now? When he is this close to having a normal life with his girl again?” Bailey put her fingers together in exaggeration. “You three better keep a close eye on him. Men are stupid. Make sure he is still using his brain to think and not other body parts. If you know what I mean…” she raised her eyebrows, making the trio laugh at her expression.    
  


“I’m serious,” Bailey narrowed her eyes at the women. “Karev is a couple drinks away from making a very serious mistake… his poor girlfriend isn’t even here to defend herself or see what’s going on. So as women who support other women, it’s our job to make sure that he doesn’t do something that will hurt his girlfriend.” 

***

Two days later, Jo had finally had enough. She’d been standing at the fourth floor nurses’ station updating some of Alex’s charts when she saw him walking out to the waiting area with Dr. Torres to update a patient’s family. From her spot behind the desk, she stared at him longingly for a few moments. He really looked great in his scrubs, and it took everything within her not to want to pull him into the nearby conference room. 

She had been watching for a few minutes when someone came up behind her and breathed into her ear, “Don’t waste your time on him, hairball.” 

Jo turned to see Cristina Yang standing there with an unimpressed look on her face, “I’m serious. Alex doesn’t date. He doesn’t sleep around. He’s got a girlfriend who’s moving here very soon. So, don’t waste your time trying to get into his pants because it’s not going to happen.”

Jo huffed in annoyance. His friend’s concern was nice and all for the first couple weeks, but now it was just getting old. She wanted to be able to look at her boyfriend without someone accusing her of trying to get him to cheat on his girlfriend. Jo looked around and realized that everyone seemed to be watching her exchange with Yang. Stevens and Grey were whispering to each other in the background, Bailey stared at the two of them with wide eyes, O’Malley and Sloan gave the pair sideways glances, and Lexie was trying her best not to laugh. 

Seeing that he was walking in her direction, Jo stood up from behind the desk and mumbled to herself, “Oh, screw it.”

Jo rounded the desk and stood in front of Alex, who smiled at her, “Wilson, what can I do for you?”

“Just one thing,” Jo wrapped her arms around Alex and pulled him down into a kiss. She heard the gasps around them as she kissed Alex and couldn’t help but grin mischievously. 

When they pulled apart, Alex looked at her with raised eyebrows, “Oh, so we’re doing this now?”

“I got tired of hiding it,” Jo shrugged. She looked around at the shocked expressions of everyone surrounding them, watching in anticipation for Alex’s reaction. “I want to be able to kiss you when I want to kiss you.” 

Alex’s face broke out into a large grin. He scanned the room and decided to hell with the secrecy. He could care less what people had to say about him. All that mattered was that she was here and willing to come clean. That’s why he had no qualms about bending down and kissing her back, sending the spectators in a frenzy. 

When they finally separated, Alex let a chuckle out, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “This was unbelievably hot and if we weren’t in public I’d do so much more than kiss you. So just so you know, I’m gonna have some fun with you tonight.” 

Staring up at him coyly, Jo responded, “Can’t wait.”

Walking away, Jo sent a satisfied smirk in Cristina’s direction. As soon as she was out of sight, Izzie, Cristina, and Meredith practically jumped on Alex, all talking at once. 

“What in the hell is wrong with you?!”

“In the middle of the hallway? Have some self respect.”

“Oh I knew you were up to something stupid.”

“Calm down,” Alex rolled his eyes. 

“Calm down! Calm down? You want us to be calm after what we just witnessed?” Izzie glared at him angrily. 

“Yes.” 

“Don’t be an ass,” Meredith said, pushing against his chest lightly. She grabbed a hold of his scrub top. “Look, we all have to get back to work but this conversation is not over. You are coming over to the house tonight and we are going to talk about this, or so help me God, Alex I swear I will fly to Boston and tell your girlfriend of your stupidity myself.” 

“Whatever, fine. I’ll be there,” Alex pulled her hands away from his shirt and smoothed it down. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to check on my patient in post-op.”

***

The rest of the day was… interesting, to say the least. News of Jo and Alex kissing spread through the hospital like wildfire. Everywhere they went, someone would send a look of disapproval their way. Jo felt like a pariah, like she had a scarlet letter attached to her scrub top. Alex kept getting glares and looks of disdain anytime he’d pass by hospital staff. 

By the time Alex climbed in the car, all he wanted to do was go home and take a shower. Instead, he’d have to explain to his girlfriend that they would be stopping by Meredith’s house for what could only be described as an intervention. 

Jo entered the car about three minutes after he did, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Alex gave her a small smile. “So… my friends want to kill me. Thanks for that.” 

“I’m sorry. I know I probably shouldn’t have done that the way I did it, but I meant what I said. I’m tired of hiding, Alex. I want people to know that we’re together and we’re in love. I don’t want to worry about entering and exiting the hospital separately so that no one knows. And, I’m really tired of hearing the interns say how hot you are.” 

Alex chuckled, “I’m tired of it, too. My friends are right. I can’t go more than twenty minutes without talking about you or thinking about you. I want them to know you, and I mean really know you. You deserve to be shown off, not hidden away like you’re some dirty little secret that I’m ashamed of.” 

“So, now what?” Jo asked. 

“Now, we are going to Mer’s house because she has put together a group of people that are going to chew me out because I cheated on my girlfriend, blah, blah, blah,” Alex began to pull out of the parking lot. “Except, they are going to get the surprise of their lives when you show up with me and I tell them that it’s been you all along.” 

“You know, I don’t think I’m going to stop them from beating you up when you tell them,” Jo chuckled, her fingers moving to caress Alex’s thigh. “But promise we’ll be quick, I really wanna go home and jump into bed with you.”

The drive to Meredith’s was short, Alex and Jo both climbing out of the car and hesitantly stood on the porch together. It took him a minute to gather up the courage, but he finally rang the doorbell, grimacing at Meredith’s angry expression when she saw Jo. 

“Before you flip your lid will you just let us in,” Alex pushed Jo in front of him, looking at Meredith pointedly as he did so. “I’m not going in unless she does.”

“Fine, but I’m voicing my displeasure about Wilson being here,” Meredith sent one last glare towards the couple before allowing them to walk inside. 

Spread across the living room were Cristina, Izzie, George, Callie, and even Bailey who all began to loudly complain at the sight of Alex and Jo standing next to each other. Meredith quieted them down, rolling her eyes as she sat next to Cristina, “He wouldn’t come in without her, trust me I tried.”

“No offense Hairball, but we’re kind of having this meeting  _ because  _ of you,” Cristina glared at Jo, crossing her arms across her chest. “That doesn’t give you an invite.”

“Will you guys settle down, you’re being insufferable,” Alex took a deep breath, looking to Jo before quickly turning back to his friends. “I love that you guys are concerned about me and that you’re worried about my relationship, but you have nothing to worry about. My girlfriend already moved to Seattle, a few weeks ago actually.”

“That doesn’t make anything better. In fact that makes it worse,” Izzie exclaimed as she gestured to Jo. “You’re screwing an intern while your girlfriend is waiting at home for you! Alex what the hell?”

Ignoring Izzie’s outburst, Alex slung his arm around Jo’s shoulder with a crooked grin, “Guys, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend Jo. You know the one I’ve been dating for three and a half years? This is her.”

All six people stare gape mouthed at Alex and Jo, both of whom were grinning widely. Jo leaned over to Alex, dramatically whispering to him, “I think you stunned them, maybe tell them again so they understand what’s happening.”

“No no, I heard you loud and clear,” Bailey looked between the two, shaking her head as if she’s trying to get the thought to settle into her mind. “I just can’t believe that Karev would date someone so… normal.”

The living room erupts into chaos then, a mix of profanities, disbelief, and countless questions flying through the air as Jo and Alex stood unfazed by the happenings around them. More than anything, the two were excited to not have to sneak around anymore. 

“Hold on, how the hell did this happen? How did we not figure this out,” Izzie let an exasperated sigh out as she leaned her head against the back of the couch. “This is insane!”

“I told you guys, I met Jo in med school. Actually Lexie introduced us,” Alex looked to Meredith, who wore an angry expression as she stared him down. “I didn’t know she was your sister until about 24 hours before you did, don’t look at me like that.”   
  
Cristina looked between the two with a bewildered expression, her eyes trained on Jo, “I still don’t understand how the hell you decided to date Alex of all people. Were there no other male suitors? Is this Stockholm Syndrome? I need answers.”

“Well he slept with all of my friends first, then we got closer and I realized he wasn’t a total douchebag,” Jo blushed, leaning her head against Alex’s shoulder. “And then we went to visit his family for Christmas one year and things just… kinda fell into place.”

“Well as horrifying as that is, it still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell any of us that your girlfriend was an intern,” Callie pointed out. “She’s a badass on her own, she doesn’t need your reputation to help her Karev.”

“I know that, but I wanted you all to figure that out on your own without seeing her as just my girlfriend,” Alex grinned, excited that his friends saw just as much promise in Jo as he did. “And now that you have, I can show her off like I’ve wanted to for the past three weeks.”

“You know what the most ridiculous part of this is,” Meredith gestured to Jo, a smirk on her face. “Wilson’s the one that’s been giving Alex those insane hickeys! She looks so innocent.”

“Listen I would love to stand here and be mocked by you guys for longer, but my girlfriend will kill me if I don’t get her home soon,” Alex waved to his friends as he pulled Jo out of the room, both of them running out the door in a fit of laughter like excited teenagers. “Well… that was fun.”

“Yup and I’m gonna leave a huge hickey on your neck tonight,” Jo smiled as she pulled Alex down into a kiss. “Just cause I can.”


	10. part ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scrub kinks and trophy husbands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! Hope you enjoy part ten. Let us know in the comments what you loved and what you’d hope to see more of :)  
> -  
> -  
> Flashbacks are in italics, present is print!

———

#  **_(October 2005)_ **

_“Did you buy candy like I told you?” Jo called out from the bathroom where she was getting ready for the day._

_“Jesus, woman. I told you I bought candy, the lady at the store thought I was crazy. What’s with the excitement?” Alex asked, walking up behind her and nuzzling her neck from behind. “You sound like a second grader who’s going to eat too much candy and then barf on their parents front porch.”_

_“It’s just… it’s my first time doing this. I want to do it right,” she turned in Alex’s embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at him with a sweet look on her face._

_“I’m sorry, what? You’ve never celebrated Halloween?” he questioned her. She shook her head at him with a sad smile._

_“It’s my first time,” Jo admitted._

_“Okay. Let’s make sure we have a good one, then. Any other holidays you’ve missed out on growing up I should know about?” Alex reacted normally. He didn’t want her to get emotional over that day, but wanted to make sure all her first holidays were special._

_“All of them, actually. I’m doing them all for the first time with you,” she smiled. “Christmas in Iowa was the first time I’d ever really celebrated Christmas. We haven’t really celebrated any of the other holidays since we’ve been together. I never knew how and you were busy or didn’t think it was that important, so… I don’t know. I guess I thought that this year could be a little different.”_

_Alex’s face softened, curling up into a crooked grin, “It’ll definitely be different. We can go all out for everything, I’ll even learn how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Slow your roll there mister, you can’t even cook ramen without burning it,” Jo laughed, then leaned up to kiss Alex sweetly. “But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”_

_“I’m serious, Jo. We’re gonna go all out. So, make sure your costume is ready for when we hand out candy to all the kids in the neighborhood. I’m gonna go buy some last minute pumpkins for us to carve so that it’ll look like we tried to decorate.”_

_***_

_“Hey! I have pumpkins,” Alex walked into a shockingly silent apartment, brows furrowed as he looked around for Jo. “Babe? Where are you?”_

_“Hey sorry I was finding a costume,” Jo peaked her head out of their bedroom, a witch hat haphazardly placed on her head. “I’m a witch!”_

_“You’re the sexiest witch I’ve ever seen,” Alex walked into the bedroom and looked her up and down in appreciation, seeing the right black dress she’d paired with the hat._

_“Thanks,” Jo smiled brightly as she finished the last bit of her bright red lipstick. “So, what are you going to be for Halloween?”_

_“You’re going to have to wait and see,” Alex called over his shoulder. He took his time carving the pumpkins and laughed as he watched Jo attempt to make pumpkin pie from a recipe she found in the paper. He had to give her some credit, though. Jo was not a baker. She really only knew how to make a handful of meals and that was a direct result of living in her car as a teenager._

_By the time the pumpkins were carved, it was almost time to get ready for the trick-or-treaters. So, Alex went to go change into the costume he had purchased last minute while Jo opened up the bags of candy they’d be handing out to the kids._

_“Alright, Jo I’m coming in with my costume,” Alex announced as he walked back in the direction of the kitchen._

_“Okay,” Jo called out and rolled her eyes as she considered what ridiculous costume her boyfriend might come out in. Turning, Jo came face to face with Alex in a pair of dark scrubs and a stethoscope around his neck. Eyebrows shooting up, Jo let her eyes rake down his frame. “Woah.”_

_“What do you think? I decided to go for the whole doctor thing,” Alex explained, motioning to the clothes he had on._

_“I think… I have discovered a new kink,” Jo blushed as she admitted her newfound partiality to Alex in scrubs._

_“Really?” Alex’s face curled up into a smug grin. “Want to go test it?”_

_“I really do, but we are going to have trick-or-treaters knocking at our door any minute now, and I want to make sure I take my time with… this,” Jo waved a hand over his body. “So, let’s hand out the candy as quickly as possible and then I can show you just how much I love seeing you in scrubs.”_

_“Sounds good to me.”_

  
  


———

#  **(September 2007)**

“Hey! You haven’t happened to see a kid running through here anytime recently, would you?” Jo asked as she ran up to Alex at the nurses’ station. “My patient has a nine year old son that keeps disappearing and getting into trouble. Bailey has me running after him so that he doesn’t do something that could end in a lawsuit.” 

Alex’s face curved up into a smirk, “No, I have not. But, if I do I will let you know.” 

“Thanks,” Jo reached over and gave Alex a quick kiss before turning around. 

“Love you,” Alex called out as he watched her smile and run off to find the child. Seeing Jo always put him in a good mood, hence the wide smile on his face. She really could make any bad day brighter. He had been lost in thought for a minute when he heard a laugh behind him. Alex turned to find Izzie and Cristina staring at him with bewildered expressions. “What?”

“Nothing… it’s just, you are _so_ whipped,” Izzie mused. “She showed up and you went from a scowl to a soft smile, and now you’ve got this dreamy look on your face.” 

“You’re like a lovesick puppy. It’s kind of gross and unnatural coming from you,” Cristina shook her head. “You really still look at her that way after three and a half years together?” 

“Shut up,” Alex rolled his eyes. “I am not whipped.” 

Webber, who’d overheard the conversation, chuckled, “Hate to break it to you Karev, but you are. That woman could ask for the moon and you’d find a way to give her the stars, too.” 

Cristina and Izzie dissolved into a fit of giggles at Webber’s remarks, both of them struggling to keep their composure as Alex glared at them, “You guys suck. Someday you’re gonna fall in love and you’ll never hear the freaking end of it from me.”

***

“Hey, it’s Wilson right?”

Jo looked up from her seat at the bar at the man standing next to her, “Yeah. Jo Wilson. I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“My name is Logan Brett. I’m a fourth year resident,” Logan extended his hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you,” Jo shook his hand. “Did you need something?”

“Just wanted to see if I could buy you a drink,” Logan flashed her a bright smile. 

Jo raised her eyebrows and laughed awkwardly, “I’m good, thanks.” 

“Oh, come on,” Logan leaned against the bar. “I remember what it’s like being an intern. It’s stressful. I can help with that. Let me buy you a drink.”

“Really, I’m good. Thanks,” Jo raised up her beer in response, before pointing to a booth in the corner. “There’s a whole table of interns over there who need to get laid though. I’m sure one of them will take you up on your offer.”

Logan leaned in closer to Jo, placing one hand on her shoulder as his breath fanned out uncomfortably across her neck, “I don’t want them, I want you.”

Jo was about to bite back with a snappy remark when a low voice sounded behind her, “She said back off, might be a good idea to listen to her.”

Looking up from Jo to Alex, who stood behind her now, Logan rolled his eyes as he sized Alex up, “And what’re you gonna do about it?”

“Oh me? I’m not gonna do anything but she’ll probably knock you out,” Alex wrapped an arm around Jo’s shoulder, still glaring at the man who now looked slightly terrified. “Get lost before I report you to the Chief.”

Logan scurried away, Jo dissolving into a fit of giggles as she turned in Alex’s arms, “You’re the worst you know? I could’ve handled him.”

“Yeah but it’s more fun that way,” Alex dipped his head to Jo’s neck, letting his lips press against the skin there as his teeth bit lightly. “You wanna get out of here? I promise I’m more fun than that loser.”

“I do, but I think what I really want to do is stick around for a little while just to rub it in everyone’s faces that I get to go home with you,” Jo leaned forward to give Alex a kiss. 

“What am I? A trophy husband?” Alex joked. “Some arm candy?”

“Duh,” Jo laughed brightly. “Arm candy, yes. Trophy husband? Well we aren’t married so…”

“Is that my fault?” Alex feigned innocence. “Was I supposed to ask or something?”

“Um… yeah,” Jo pushed Alex playfully. “You jerk.” 

“Well, that’s news to me,” a stupid grin made it’s way onto Alex’s face. “One day, when you come up with some super genius medical procedure that saves tons of lives, I’m going to retire and be your trophy husband.” 

“You’re such a dork.”

“And you love me.” 

“Yeah, I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t forget to give us a follow on our tumblr @thejolexgroupchat


	11. part eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stealing surgeries and French fries too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this short, but funny addition to the med school fic. Hope it cleanses you of what we experienced tonight

———

#  **_(December 2007)_ **

“Stop being an ass,” Izzie hissed at Alex as he walked out of a patient room.

“I’m not being an ass. I’m doing my job,” Alex removed his gloves and threw them in the garbage bin right outside the trauma room. 

“No you aren’t. You’re being a shark and taking advantage of my natural kindness so that you can take surgeries from me,” Izzie glared at him angrily. 

“Dude, he’s not even going to need surgery because I got to him in time. So, calm down and maybe you’ll beat me to the next guy,” Alex closed the chart and smiled smugly. “You should just stop now while you still can. Everyone knows that it’s between Meredith and I. Just give up and maintain some dignity.” 

“You’re delusional,” Izzie huffed stubbornly and stomped away, leaving Alex laughing at her outburst. 

“You are so bad,” Jo laughed and shook her head at Alex’s antics. “You could at least let her think she has a chance.” 

“Now why the hell would I do that?” Alex leaned over and gave Jo a quick kiss. “You and I both know it’s going to come down to me or Mer in this competition.” 

“Yeah, but you don’t have to be an asshole about it,” Jo slapped his arm lightly. “This is why they call you Evil Spawn.” 

“I don’t really care,” Alex shrugged and smirked, looking around to make sure that no one was close enough to hear what he was about to say. “They can call me whatever the hell they want. The only thing I care about is what you call me in bed.”

“Alex!” Jo slapped his shoulder again, eyes wide. “We’re at work. You can’t say things like that.” 

“No one heard me,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Now, are you gonna stick with me today? Because I’m on a roll and if you stick around, who knows, maybe we’ll get pulled into a long surgery.” 

“Sounds like fun.” 

And they did get a long surgery. A really intense, rare surgery that Shepherd just so happened to be performing and allowed both Jo and Alex to scrub in on. A surgery that was originally supposed to belong to Izzie Stevens. By the time they were finished, Izzie was waiting outside the scrub room with her arms crossed and an angry frown on her face. 

Jo huffed a laugh when she saw the other woman’s expression. Jo turned to Alex, “I left something inside the OR…”

Alex looked at Jo desperately, silently begging her not to leave him alone with his very upset friend. Instead, Jo laughed and walked back into the scrub room, peering out the small window to witness what was sure to be a very amusing interaction between the two residents. 

“Hey… Izzie,” Alex attempted a charming smile. 

“Don’t do that. Don’t smile and act all innocent. You stole that surgery right out from underneath my nose,” Izzie glared, hands on her hips. “That was my surgery. That was my chance to get enough points to beat you.”

“Look, Shepherd chose me to be in there because I diagnosed the guy. It’s not my fault he wanted an intern in there and not another resident,” Alex challenged. 

“Whatever,” Izzie scoffed as she moved to walk away. “Tomorrow you just wait.”

Deeming it safe to leave the scrub room, Jo giggled lightly, “God, you really are a douche sometimes. I forget because you’re always so nice to me.”

“Can’t let them go thinking I have a heart.”

***

The next day, Jo was eating lunch with Izzie, Meredith, Cristina, and Lexie when Alex walked up behind her and kissed her on the cheek, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jo smiled and scootched over so that Alex could pull up a chair. “How’s your day been?”

“Eh, it could be better,” Alex shrugged. “I’ve been with Sloan all day.”

“Ooh, yikes,” Cristina commented. “That’s almost as bad as being banned from Cardio with Hahn. Almost. At least Sloan let’s you see the inside of an OR.”

“True,” Alex reached his hand out to grab one of Izzie’s French fries only to get his hand slapped away. “Hey!”

“Get your paws off my food,” Izzie brought her tray in closer to her body. “You stole my patients. You stole my surgery. You do not get to steal my food, too.”

“Calm down, it’s just a French fry,” Alex rolled his eyes. 

“It’s not about the french fry. It’s about the principle!” Izzie stood up and poked Alex in the chest as the other women watched in amusement. “So, no. You cannot have my french fries or my patients or my surgeries. Not anymore. You wanna play dirty? Well, guess what? I grew up in a trailer park and I know how to fight. So, trust me when I tell you, if you try to steal something else from under me, I will not hesitate to kick your ass.”

Truly, Alex did not mean to laugh. He just couldn’t help himself. Something about his reaction to her little spiel made her angrier, though because suddenly, she straightened. 

“Oh, screw you Karev,” Izzie scoffed and began to walk away. 

“That's Jo’s job,” Alex yelled across the cafeteria, gaining the attention of some of the others and making Izzie stop to look at him in disbelief. “And she only wants one thing from me: ORGASMS!”

There was a roar of laughter as the occupants of the cafeteria overheard Alex’s statement. Cristina, Meredith, and Lexie burst into laughter along with the crowd. Even Izzie couldn’t help but crack a smile at him.

“Alex!” Jo flicked him upside the head. 

“Ow!”

Jo shook her head in shock and horror, “Did you have to yell it to the whole world?”

“Who cares, I’m sure they’ve all heard us in the on-call rooms anyway,” Alex shrugged, unbothered by everything. 

“That’s true,” Lexie nodded.

“Yeah you two are loud,” Meredith agreed. “Very loud.”

“Oh God, really?” Jo’s eyes widened in embarrassment. 

“Sure are, hairball,” Cristina took a swig of her soda. “Sure are.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you feeling secondhand embarrassment for Jo? Let us know what you think and what you’d like to see more of in the comments below!


	12. part twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> silk red boxer briefs and broken bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! Hope you enjoy this next part. This one was so much fun to write for obvious reasons. Let us know what you think and what you’d like to see next.

———

#  **_(February 2006)_ **

_Alex felt stupid. Like, if this didn’t go well, he wouldn’t hear the end of it for years. He wasn’t even sure if Jo would like it. If she wanted this. She never said anything about Valentine’s Day, but he assumed it was because back in October she mentioned something about how she’d never celebrated it before. Jo didn’t exactly know what to expect when it came to holidays in general, let alone a holiday that was dedicated to love._

_It still kind of blew his mind that he was the first person to ever truly tell Jo he loved her. He was the first person to show her that she was worthy of someone’s care and admiration. There was just so much to love, he didn’t understand how anyone could’ve ever met her and thought otherwise._

_So that’s why he found himself doing this incredibly stupid, cheesy thing, because Jo had never had someone make a fool of themselves to show her that she was worth it. He’d written her a card with some of the most romantic and sickenly sweet things he’d ever said. He bought champagne, lit some candles and littered the bed with dozens of rose petals. He even bought a pair of ridiculous red, silk, boxer briefs that he’d be wearing when she got home after a long day of classes._

_He’d just finished the last couple touches when he heard the front door open and Jo’s light footsteps make their way across the small apartment. Alex took a deep breath as he watched the doorknob of the bedroom turn._

_“Alex?” Jo stopped in shock staring at the sight before her. “What is going on?”_

_“Happy Valentine’s Day?” Alex smiled awkwardly and pointed around the room. “You said you’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day and neither have I, so I thought I’d put together something nice. But now that you’re staring at me like that, I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t have.”_

_Jo stood slack-jawed as her eyes scanned the room, noticing the rose petals, the candles, the champagne, a letter with her name on it, and Alex standing in a pair of red, silk boxer briefs, looking back at her with flushed cheeks. She let out the tiniest laugh, “Oh my God.”_

_“And now you’re laughing at me. Great,” Alex grumbled, face turning hot with embarrassment. “I knew I shouldn’t have done this.”_

_“I’m not laughing at you,” Jo grinned, eyes shining. “I’m laughing because I’m in shock and I can’t believe you’d do this for me. You aren’t exactly the most romantic guy.”_

_“I know,” Alex sighed. “I know I’m not the most romantic guy and this is probably really weird for you, but you deserve this. You deserve all of this and more. So yeah, I bought champagne and put flowers on the bed, I wrote you a love letter and I’m standing here in these… really tight red shorts because you’re worth it. And if I have to make a fool out of myself to show you that, then I’ll do it.”_

_Jo’s face softened and she grabbed Alex’s face in her hands, “I love you. And I love that you care so much. But really, Alex you know me. You didn’t have to do all of this. Valentine’s Day is special and has been special for the past two years because I’ve gotten to spend it with you.” She lifted her hands off his face and ran them along the waistband of his red boxer briefs, looking at him suggestively. “Besides, I am a simple girl.”_

_“Really now?” Alex raised his eyebrows and allowed a sly grin to make its way onto his face. “So… what do you say we forget all the fancy stuff and just have sex?”_

_“Hold it right there, mister,” Jo placed her hand on his chest and pushed lightly. “At least pop the champagne first.”_

_“Yes ma’am.”_

  
  
  


———

#  **(January 2008)**

  
  


“Hey! I haven’t seen you around in awhile,” Jo stood next to Lexie at the nurses station, bumping her friends shoulder as she looked her over. “You haven’t been avoiding me have you?”

Lexie’s eyes widened as she turned to Jo, a blush spreading across her cheeks, “No! I’ve just been busy, I’ve been on Sloan’s service so you know how that is.”

“Oh he still finds time to operate in between screwing every nurse in the hospital? Interesting,” Jo chuckled as she pulled the chart she’d come over to grab, noticing Lexie’s lack of response to her joke. “What? Don’t tell me you actually like the guy. He’s a major douche and that’s coming from someone who’s dating Alex.”

“Hey! Watch it,” Alex walked up to the duo, pressing a kiss to Jo’s cheek as he took the chart in her hands. “What’re you talking about? Sloan sleeping with all the nurses?”

“Why are we still talking about Sloan’s sex life?! Why can’t we just drop it,” Lexie’s voice was shrill and loud as Jo and Alex stared at her in confusion. “I have things to do, I have to go!”

Jo watched as Lexie stormed off, head tilting to the side as she tried to decipher her friend's mood. Alex shrugged, turning his attention to the chart in his hand, “Must be PMSing or something.”

“Alex! Come on,” Jo smacked Alex’s shoulder and stared at him incredulously. “Somethings up with Lexie, I don’t know what it is but I’m going to find out.”

Alex rolled his eyes, pressing a kiss to Jo’s forehead before walking away, “Let me know what you figure out Sherlock!”

**__**

  
  


Jo couldn’t put her finger on what exactly was up with Lexie. She was for sure avoiding Jo now, turning the other way if she saw her in the cafeteria or in the hallways. And the other interns said she’d been leaving as soon as her shift was done, barely saying goodbye to them before jetting out the door. 

After knowing each other for almost five years, Jo and Lexie kept very few secrets from each other. The situation at hand however made Jo nervous, worried that maybe she’d done something to upset Lexie. Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed the frantic voice of her best friend as she rounded a corner towards the surgical floor. 

“Jo! I need your help,” Jo turned towards Lexie’s voice, finding the brunette leaning out of an on call room with a nervous look. “I messed up, oh I’m so screwed. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier but-“

“I said Torres not an intern,” the voice booming inside the on call room made Jo’s eyebrows sky rocket into her hairline as she met Lexie’s eyes. “Come on Little Grey, I’m dying here.”

Jo tried to peek around Lexie, but the other girl kept herself firmly positioned in the doorway, “Oh my god, are you sleeping with _Sloan_?!”

“Yes and I think I broke his… you know…,” Jo pressed a hand to her mouth as she realized exactly what Lexie was saying. “Do not laugh! This is not a laughing matter! I need you to get Torres, please?”

“Okay okay, but you owe me so big,” Jo walked away, giggles escaping her as she began her hunt for Torres. “Oh man I’m never letting her live this down.”

Jo continued down the hallways in search of Doctor Torres, frustrated that she was seemingly nowhere to be found. She really did want to help Lexie out, but she had her own work to deal with.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, Princess,” Jo visibly relaxed as Alex came into her view. “You need me to drag you into an on call room for some stress relief?”

A chuckle left Jo as she shook her head, “No I’m looking for Torres actually. You will not believe what I just witnessed.”

“Torres and I just finished a consult actually,” Alex motioned to the orthopedic surgeon who sauntered up to the duo.

Callie eyed Jo suspiciously as the younger woman wrung her hands. Before she could ask what was happening, Jo blurted out her dilemma, “I found Lexie in an on call room and I’m pretty sure she broke Mark Sloan’s penis.”

Alex and Callie stared at Jo in shock, both too stunned to answer as they took in what she’d just said. A moment passed before Alex broke out into loud laughter, followed shortly by Callie who was struggling to fight off tears as she bellowed with laughter. 

“That’s a good one Wilson,” Callie clapped Jo’s shoulder as she wiped at her cheeks. “Oh that’s a funny joke!”

Jo rolled her eyes, turning to Alex with a serious expression, “I’m not making this up! I’m pretty sure that’s why Lexie was acting weird the other day, because she’s been sleeping with Sloan. And now she’s gone and broken the man’s prized possession.”

“That’s her serious face,” Alex pointed out, his laughter dying down as he stared at Jo in disbelief. “Wait, Lex really broke Sloan’s penis?”

“Yes! Will you please go help them,” Jo pleaded to Callie. “I love Lexie but I don’t wanna think about her and Sloan getting it on. That’s too much, even for me.”

“Oh no Wilson, you’re not getting out of this that easy,” Callie shook her head in amusement. “I’ll give you two minutes while I go check on him and call Shepherd or Hunt, but you’re scrubbing in on that surgery.” 

Jo’s face dropped in horror as Callie walked away. Jo looked at Alex, “Oh God… I think I might be traumatized after this.” 

“I’m never gonna let Lexie live this down,” Alex laughed again. “She always gave us so much shit about our sex lives. She will never hear the end of it from me.” 

“I just don’t understand,” Jo shook her head in confusion. “Why Sloan? He’s like… sixteen years older than her.” 

“People want who they want,” Alex shrugged. 

“No you don’t get it. Lexie has only slept with like six people in her entire life. She’s normally so selective with who she sleeps with. She doesn’t sleep with just anyone,” Jo turned to Alex with raised eyebrows. “That’s why I’m so surprised she ever slept with you.” 

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex scrunched his face and pointed to himself. “I’m great in bed.” 

“Yeah but you’re you,” Jo patted his shoulder and walked away. Leaving Alex standing there in confusion. 

  
  


***

  
  


Jo had just scrubbed out of surgery when she found Lexie waiting outside for her, sheepish expression on her face, “Look… Jo—“

“How long?” Jo raised an eyebrow at her friend. “How long have you been sleeping with him?”

“Two and a half months,” Lexie mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with her friend.

“Two months! Geez, Lexie,” Jo shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me? I tell you practically everything. Two and a half months? You found out about Alex and I days after we got together.”

“I know,” Lexie banged her head against the wall. “I—He’s my attending. And he’s notorious for screwing anything with a pulse. I just didn’t want anyone’s judgments or opinions. Especially because I was the one who initiated everything.”

“Lex, I’m not just anyone,” Jo leaned against the wall next to Lexie. “I am your best friend. I’m the person you’re supposed to talk to about this stuff. And I know I didn’t have a lot of experience in being someone’s person before meeting you, I do know that these are the kind of things that we should be talking about.”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Lexie sighed. “It’s just… ever since my mom died last year, I can’t help but clam up when I should be talking to you about what I’m going through.”

“How about this, any time you share something with me, I share something with you. You told me about Sloan so now I’m going to tell you something,” Jo turned to face her friend. “Do you remember back in May when I was a wreck and Alex came to Boston to check on me?”

“Yeah,” Lexie nodded. “I was really worried. You wouldn’t talk or eat. All you did was cry.” 

“Well, I had a pregnancy scare back then.”

“You what?” Lexie’s eyes widened. 

“And I didn’t know how to deal with it so I just cried for three days before Alex showed up,” Jo looked over at Lexie and let out the smallest laugh. “He was so good about it, too. He held me and took me to buy the test and read the results. Then he told me that I wasn’t crazy for feeling a little disappointed that the test was negative. And… that was the first time he told me that he wants to marry me and have kids with me one day. When we’re ready.” 

“Jo that’s—wow,” Lexie reached over and squeezed her best friend’s hand. “We really got to do better at talking to each other.”

“Yeah we do,” Jo agreed. 

“I can’t believe you thought you were pregnant and didn’t tell me,” Lexie narrowed her eyes at Jo.

“I can’t believe that you started sleeping with Sloan and didn’t tell me,” Jo countered.

“That’s fair,” Lexie’s face broke out into a grin. “Next time you think you’re pregnant, you better tell me.”

“Who says there’s gonna be a next time?” Jo wrinkled her eyebrows.

“Please,” Lexie scoffed. “With the way you and Alex go at it, I’m surprised that you’ve only had one scare.”

“Oh shush,” Jo shoved Lexie slightly. “Watch out, before you have a scare.”

“Please, my IUD is a faithful friend and she wouldn’t let me down,” Lexie grinned. 

“I really hate you sometimes.”


	13. part thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> roommates and sex noises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! this part was SO MUCH FUN to write. I think we laughed one too many times while planning this part out. 
> 
> Hope this helps heal your hurting jolex heart. Happy Reading!!  
> -Leya, Nina, and Nat

**———**

#  **(March 2008)**

It was kind of embarrassing to be honest. When they showed up at Meredith’s doorstep with a couple bags and boxes full of their belongings as the rest got hauled off to storage, they couldn’t help but feel the heat rising in their cheeks. Because leave it to them to leave the water running in the bathroom while they were too busy have sex in the living room. The tub overflowed and flooded causing water damage all over the small apartment. 

After some laughter and teasing, Meredith opened the door and allowed them inside, pointing up to Alex’s old room, “Rent is due on the fifteenth.” 

“Do you think we’ll get our security deposit back?” Alex asked as they unpacked their things. 

Jo raised her eyebrows, “You’re kidding right? We’re never getting that money back again. Be glad we were able to save our couch.”

A few hours later, the two were lounging on the couch when Izzie walked in, “Oh, hey guys. What are you two doing here?”

“Moving in,” Alex replied simply and grabbed another handful of popcorn from the bowl in Jo’s lap. “Our apartment flooded.” 

“Wait, you didn’t move back into your old room did you?” Izzie narrowed her eyes as she watched Lexie come down from the attic. 

“They sure did,” Lexie crossed her arms. “I got kicked out and banished to the attic.” 

“You didn’t get banished,” Jo rolled her eyes. “It just made more sense because we have more stuff.” 

“What? No, no, no,” Izzie shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“Izzie. It’s my house. I decide who gets to live here,” Meredith looked at Izzie in surprise. “You’ve lived across the hall and shared a bathroom with Alex before. What’s the issue?”

“Last time he lived here, he was practically celibate and quiet. Now Jo’s here and you know what means,” Izzie scowled in disgust. “The last thing I want is to be living across the hall from sex-crazed monkeys while I am very much single and not getting any.”

Her response garnered a few laughs from the group. Lexie shrugged her shoulders, “You get used to it after a while. Invest in wax ear plugs.” 

*******

Living in the frat house wasn’t so bad. Sure, privacy was few and far between, but there were definitely some benefits to living under the same roof as so many people. Alex would disagree and say that it was too much estrogen for one guy alone, and got excited anytime Shepherd was around to talk to. 

In just a couple weeks, Jo had gone from being friendly with Meredith and Izzie, to actually considering them friends. The girls would often be found sharing the bathroom and getting ready together in the mornings before having to make it in for their shifts at the hospital. 

“Jo! Are you coming with us today? Because we’ve got to go now!” Meredith yelled down from the kitchen as Jo made her way down the stairs.

“Yes! Alex was on-call last night so he’s got the car,” Jo reached over for one of the apples in the fruit bowl and dropped it into her purse. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.” 

Jo piled into the car with Meredith, Lexie, and Derek looking around in confusion, “Where’s Izzie?”

“She’s got the day off,” Lexie explained. 

“Lucky her,” Jo clicked her seatbelt in place as they pulled out of the driveway. “I wish I were still sleeping.”

“At least you get sleep,” Derek looked into the rearview mirror. “Meredith snores. Loudly.” 

“I told you about the wax ear plugs,” Lexie pointed out. “How do you think Izzie gets sleep every night living across the hall from Jo and Alex?” 

“We’re not even that bad,” Jo rolled her eyes. “Besides, he’s been pulling lots of night shifts the past two weeks, so we haven’t really had a chance to be loud.” 

Meredith chuckled, “It’s okay, Jo. You don’t have to explain yourself. Lexie isn’t allowed to talk since she’s sleeping with Sloan.”

“I still don’t like it,” Derek shook his head. “Mark should know better.” 

“I appreciate your concern Derek, but I’m a big girl,” Lexie narrowed her eyes before breaking out into a smile. “It is nice to have a big brother, though.”

The rest of the ride was done in a comfortable silence. When they got to the hospital, Jo and Lexie made their way over to the locker room to get ready for the day. 

“Who’s service are you on today?” Lexie asked. 

“Your boyfriend’s,” Jo gave Lexie a sideways look as she stripped out her street clothes. “Which means I get to spend the day getting him lattes and not doing surgery.”

“I can talk to him if you want,” Lexie offered. “Sure, he can be an arrogant asshole at times but he’s really sweet if he wants to be. Kind of reminds me of how Alex was with you.” 

“So, it’s serious then? Between you two?” 

“Maybe? I don’t know,” Lexie shrugged slightly. “I introduced him to my dad, so…” 

“Wow,” Jo raised her eyebrows and pulled her scrub pants on. "I didn't even meet your dad until a few months ago."

"We just got here a few months ago," Lexie pointed out. "Anyway, the point is, I could ask him to actually teach for once. He's actually pretty good at it."

"I don't know if it's the age difference, but that definitely sounded dirty," Jo made a face.

"What sounded dirty?" the girls were interrupted by Alex who came behind them and placed his hands on Jo's bare waist. "You know, I don't know how I feel about you undressing in front of everyone. You're too hot."

"Okay, now I'm leaving," Lexie rolled her eyes. "You guys are too much. I'll see you at home later."

The couple giggled lightly as they watched Lexie shut her locker and leave. Jo put her scrub top on, "How was last night? Anything interesting come in?"

"There was a trauma that came in at around 2am. A sixteen year old and a couple of his friends got into a car accident trying to sneak out of the house. They got pretty banged up, but everyone made it out okay." 

"That's good," Jo looked up at Alex. "Are you sticking around

or going home?"

"I'll be here until lunch and then I'm going home to sleep,” he replied. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" 

"Yeah," Jo nodded and said goodbye to Alex, making her way to find Sloan.

  
  


*******

Later that evening, the doctors arrived home absolutely exhausted, everyone going to their respective rooms to sleep. Somewhere around 2am, Jo found herself being poked awake. She turned and saw Meredith looking up at her. 

"Meredith, what the hell?" Jo whispered so as not to wake up Alex.

"Hi. I need your help with something," Meredith explained in hushed tones. "I had an idea after reading my mother's journals and I need your help."

"Why me?" Jo grumbled.

"Because you're the smartest person I know," Meredith stated plainly. "Don't tell Cristina or Lexie I said that."

"Fine," Jo huffed and slipped out of the bed, following Meredith downstairs.

After about an hour of sifting through the journals and coming up with a plan to pursue in the future, Meredith and Jo both heard their pagers go off. They made their way back up the stairs to change when they heard a loud moan. 

“Ah!”

Meredith and Jo exchanged a look, “Is that Izzie?”

“Did you guys get paged too?” Lexie walked out of the bathroom and stopped in her tracks, “What the hell?”

“Wait, we’ve been up for over an hour. If no one walked into the house, who’s in there with her?” Jo furrowed her brow in concern. 

“Derek!” Meredith shouted, eyes wide, hoping not to find her boyfriend in the room with her friend.

“What? What’s the matter?” Derek rushed out of their bedroom into the hallway. 

“Nothing, nothing—is wrong,” Meredith shook her head. “I just—“

“What are you doing up? It’s three in the morning,” Derek froze when he heard the groans, face scrunching in confusion. “Who’s making a porno movie in Izzie’s room?”

Jo’s eyes flitted over to the door of her room. She walked over and opened it, peering inside, “Alex?” 

Jo’s heart dropped when she saw the empty bed. She turned back to her friends and gulped, “He’s not in there.”

Three sets of eyebrows raised and Jo felt a couple tears prickling at her eyes. She felt her breaths grow more rapid and shallow as she started to panic. 

“Oh my God,” Lexie gasped in shock. “No… he wouldn’t. Right?”

“He’s in there with her,” Jo placed a hand on her chest in hopes of slowing the rapid beating of her heart.

“Jo. Look at me,” Meredith grabbed her shoulders. “I need you to breathe.”

“I can’t,” Jo shook her head as she begged the tears not to fall. “I can’t. He’s in there with her. I can’t believe Alex would—.”

“Can’t believe Alex would do what?” Alex asked as he trudged up the steps, fully clothed. “What did I do?”

“Wait, what were you doing downstairs?” Meredith asked. 

“I got paged and went to use the bathroom, but someone was already in this one. So I went to use the one downstairs and saw you and Jo flipping through your mom’s old diaries, but I didn’t want to bother you. Why do you guys look so relieved to see me?” Alex tilted his head to one side. 

“That’s why,” Lexie made a motion to Izzie’s bedroom as another loud gasp of pleasure made its way to their ears.

“Oh crap,” Alex’s face donned the same look of shock as the rest of them. Realizing what must’ve been going through everyone’s minds, he turned to Jo who looked positively ready to cry. “Jo. You really think I'd cheat on you literally across the hall from our room? Do I look that stupid?”

“I opened the door to our room and you weren’t there,” Jo averted her eyes. “I didn’t know what to think. No one’s entered the house.”

“Wait, you didn’t see anyone come in?” Alex scratched his head slightly before pressing his ear up to the door. “Guys, she’s the only one making noise.”

“She’s flying solo?” Lexie gasped once again and clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God.”

“I’m gonna go,” Derek made a face and walked back into his and Meredith’s room.

“Damn... that’s hot. How do I get in on that?” Alex joked, ducking when he felt a slap on his head. “Ouch.”

“You pig,” Meredith rolled her eyes. “Okay, everyone get dressed if you’re going to the hospital. We’re leaving in five minutes. And someone go knock on her door and find out if she’s coming with us.”

“Not it!” Lexie ran back up to the attic to get ready. 

Sighing, Alex banged on Izzie’s door, “Izzie! Party’s over. Let’s go. We’ve got a trauma coming in.”

“Oh, hey. Hi. I’m not going. I’m not feeling too great, actually,” Izzie panted as she cracked the door open and poked her head out. “I think I have the flu or something.”

“You sounded just fine to me,” Alex muttered, the beginnings of smirk tugging on his lips. “Okay, then. Get some rest I guess.”

“Uh huh. Thanks,” Izzie shut the door quickly.

Alex followed Jo back into the bedroom and watched as she changed into her clothes. She avoided his gaze and silently began to pull on a pair of jeans. He watched her for a minute before speaking, “Dude, did you really think I was cheating on you? With Izzie?”

“I told you, I didn’t know what to think. I saw that you weren’t in bed and then I heard her moans and it just brought back all of my insecurities,” Jo shared softly.

“What do you have to be insecure about?” Alex narrowed his eyes at her.

“You’re kidding right?” Jo scoffed. “She’s a model. An actual model. And we live with her. She’s hot and smart and funny and tall, and she’s everything I’m not.”

“So what?” Alex shrugged. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. “You are hotter and smarter and funnier. You’re not tall, but that’s okay because you’re already perfect. Do you really think I care if she was a model? She’s not you.”

“So, you still think I’m hot?” Jo asked shyly.

“Dude, I literally told you earlier today that it shouldn’t be allowed for the interns to see you change because you’re way too hot. The guys are drooling and the girls are probably jealous.”

“Oh please,” Jo rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious, babe. You are way too hot to handle,” he leaned in to give her a kiss. “But you know, you are always welcome to model for me. Any time, any place, any state of dress.”

Jo laughed, “Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let us know what you think about this chapter and what you think is going to happen next!!


	14. part fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guilty conscience and POA's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this short, and kind of angsty? addition to the med school fic. Let us know what you think in the comments!

##  **———**

##  **(April 2008)**

“Hey. You okay?” 

Alex looked up to find Jo standing above him with a solemn expression on her face. She sat down next to him on the bench in the residents’ lounge and grabbed his hand, “I heard what happened today. I’m sorry. I know she’s your friend. Hell, she’s my friend, too.” 

“I feel so stupid,” Alex shook his head. “I should’ve known something was up. She tried to tell me that she was hallucinating Denny a couple weeks ago and I just brushed it off. I told her that after my grandma died, I saw her in a couple dreams. I’m a freaking doctor, a surgeon, and I couldn’t even tell that one of my closest friends has cancer.”

“Alex, this isn’t your fault. I know you feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you don’t,” Jo squeezed his hand. “No one else noticed. Not Bailey, not Webber, or Shepherd, or O’Malley, or Meredith, or Lexie. I didn’t notice, and we’ve been living across the hall from her for the past month and a half. No one would’ve known about Izzie’s cancer just by looking at her. Let’s be honest, no one would’ve known until it was too late if Yang didn’t announce it to the OR. Stop beating yourself up about this. The best we can do is be there for her and support her as she fights.”

Alex released a breath, “It’s just… Izzie getting cancer has made me think about a lot of things.”

“What things?” 

“Look, I know I didn’t exactly win the genetic lottery,” Alex shook his head. “My dad was a junkie and my mom has schizophrenia. I haven’t seen my dad in over a decade and my mom is okay for now, but she could break at any moment. I know addiction and crazy runs in my family. I wouldn’t be surprised if heart issues and other types of mental or neurological diseases ran in my family, too. Genetically, I’m a ticking time bomb. I could keel over and die at any moment.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Jo narrowed her eyes at him, an almost angry expression on her face. “I don’t want to talk about you dying.” 

“What? It’s true, though. And you…? Don’t even get me started on you,” Alex sighed, balling his fists up. “You know absolutely nothing about your medical history. We have no idea what kinds of things you carry in your genes and that scares the crap out of me. It scares me because I love you too much, and if something happened to you, I wouldn’t make it. I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I can barely handle it when you have a cold. I’m a doctor, but anytime you get sick all I can think of is all the ways it could go wrong. The thought of something happening to you makes me feel physically ill. Why do you think I flew all the way to Boston last year when I heard your voice through the phone and knew something was wrong? You’re the reason I am who I am today and if you weren’t around, God, I don’t know what I’d become. I don’t want to live in a world where you aren’t around.” 

“Oh Alex,” Jo felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. “I know. I’m scared every single day, that I’m going to wake up and you’ll be gone. That I’m going to come into work only to find your body on a stretcher or in the morgue. We tell people that their loved ones didn’t make it all the time, and sure it’s hard to lose a patient, but we move on because we have to. But when I think about losing you, it’s almost paralyzing, because before you, I never had anything to lose. Sure, I have friends but it’s not the same. You’re the only family I’ve ever really known. I wouldn’t be able to handle it either. They might have to commit me to some rehab facility because I’d be a mess.”

There was a beat of silence before Alex spoke, “I think I’m going to write a living will. I want to make sure that you and my mom, Aaron, and Amber are good in case something happens to me. I also want to make you my power of attorney. You’re the only person I trust enough to make those kinds of decisions. You’re the only person I’d want to make those decisions.”

“Are you sure? You wouldn’t want your brother or even one of your friends to be your POA? Like, I don’t know, Cristina? I’m sure she’d make better decisions than I would,” Jo raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

“Babe, we’ve been together for four and a half years. There’s no one who knows me as well as you do. There’s no one who cares about my wellbeing more than you do. There’s no one who knows what I’d want in a tough situation more than you do, either. There’s no one who deserves to make those decisions more than you do,” Alex wrapped an arm around Jo’s shoulders. 

“Years ago, if something happened to me or I just disappeared one day, no one would’ve ever noticed. No one would go looking for me because I had no one, nothing. If I got hurt or was in the hospital, they’d see that I had no emergency contact and that I was all alone. You’re the first person I’ve ever had that I knew would take care of me, even before we got together. You’ve always taken care of me. That’s why I put your name down on all of my medical forms as soon as we became friends… I don’t know I’d do without you,” Jo confessed quietly. “You’re the only person I have. Yeah, you can say I have Lexie and Mer and the rest of our friends, but it’s not the same. You’re my family, my only family. Without you, I’m all alone again.”

“I don’t ever want to leave you. I swear, I plan on being by your side until we’re old and gray and fighting about something stupid, like who had the coolest surgeries,” Alex pressed a kiss to Jo’s forehead. “I know it sucks talking about this, but I’d rather be prepared and leave everything in writing than stick you with an impossible decision in the long run.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jo nodded and melted into Alex’s embrace. “Let’s just hope we never have to use it.” 

Alex pressed his forehead against Jo’s, “I’ll do my best to make sure we never have to.”


	15. part fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 007 and Post-It Weddings

———

#  **(May 2008)**

“Hey.”

Jo looked up from her spot beside Izzie’s bed to see Alex’s solemn face in the doorway, “No. Please tell me it’s not true.”

“It’s true,” Alex swallowed back some emotion. “It’s O’Malley.”

“No,” Jo shook her head and pressed her hand up to her mouth to conceal a small cry. “Oh my God.”

Alex walked inside the hospital room and looked at Jo’s position. She’d been the most faithful one, sitting at Izzie’s bedside day in and day out ever since the surgery. Currently, Jo was sitting on the chair beside the bed, hand gripping Izzie’s tightly as she willed her to wake up. 

Alex placed an arm around Jo’s shoulder and a kiss on her forehead, “Yeah. I know.”

“She’s gonna be devastated. Alex, she’s not gonna make it if she wakes up and finds out that George died,” Jo felt a few tears run down her cheeks. “He’s her best friend. He’s her husband. They just got married.” Jo looked up at Alex. “That would be like if you died. If I were sick and found out that you died, I wouldn’t want to keep living. I’d want to just go with you. How the hell do we tell her that her perfectly healthy husband was fine and stepped out to take a walk to de-stress because Izzie’s memory kept resetting every thirty seconds and now he’s dying? Because he pulled a stranger out of the way and got hit by a bus?” 

“I—I don’t know,” Alex sighed. “Dammit O’Malley. He just had to go and play the hero.”

“She’s got to live, Alex. I can’t lose another friend. I’ve lost enough people as it is,” Jo leaned into Alex’s embrace. 

“We’re gonna help her. We’ll be here when she wakes up and we’ll tell her and hold her hand and let her cry until she can’t cry anymore,” Alex looked down at Izzie’s sleeping form. “She won’t be alone. She’ll be taken care of and loved. I promise.” 

“She coded a little while ago. You weren’t here, but she almost died,” Jo looked up at him with watery eyes. “I started doing compressions and told them to toss out the DNR. I saved her life. But what if she wakes up and hates me because she could’ve died and been with George. I robbed her of that.”

“Stop. Don’t start blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault,” Alex squeezed her hand tighter. “You saved her life. You brought her back. And hopefully, when she wakes up, she’ll be grateful.”

"You don't know that," Jo felt a couple tears fall down her face. "First her fiancé died, then the daughter that we didn't know she had didn't want to meet her, then she got cancer. And now her best friend, her husband died. How does someone get dealt such a crappy hand?"

"I wish I had the answer," the pair sat there in silence for a while. "She's going to have to make a decision about his organs."

"George would want to give everything. I know he would," Jo replied. "And I know that's what Izzie would decide too."

There was a slight stirring coming from Izzie. Alex and Jo looked down to see as their friend slowly regained consciousness. Izzie blinked her eyes open and let out a slight cough. Alex quickly moved to the bedside table and poured her a cup of water, sitting on the edge of the bed allowing her to sip it. 

“Thanks,” Izzie croaked. She looked between her two friends and felt tears pool in her eyes. “He’s dead isn’t he? George? He’s dead, right? I know he is because I saw him. When I was coding, I saw him and he told me he loved me and that I needed to fight.”

“Iz,” Alex spoke softly. “George went to go for a walk because he needed some air. He was standing near a crosswalk when he saw a woman about to be hit by a bus and he pulled her out of the way. In doing so, he got dragged by the bus himself. Shepherd, Hunt, and Sloan have done everything in their power to try and save him, but they couldn’t fix the damage. His brain herniated mid-surgery. He’s brain dead.”

Izzie’s body became wracked in sobs. Jo immediately sat beside her and held her tightly as she cried. Alex took one of Izzie’s hands in his own and squeezed it comfortingly. They stood like that for a few moments until Izzie spoke again, “I want to see him. Can you please take me to see him?”

Alex nodded and helped Izzie out of the bed and into a wheelchair. He wheeled her out of her room with Jo trailing closely behind. When they arrived at George's hospital room, they found that it was already occupied by many of their friends standing around his bedside. Seeing that Izzie was being wheeled in, the group dispersed, only Hunt and Shepherd staying behind. 

Jo and Alex left the room, deciding to give Izzie some privacy to grieve. Jo sighed, “I hate everything about this.” 

“Me too,” Alex stared into the room at his friends. He couldn’t believe it. They started out, five of them, and now George was practically dead and Izzie almost died on them today too. He turned to Jo and looked at her seriously. “Promise me you won’t go jumping in front of busses for strangers or sign a DNR, ever. I just… I need you alive.”

“I promise.” 

The day had been exhausting, both physically and emotionally. By the time the end of the day rolled around, Jo and Alex were ready to go home. Cristina had offered to stay with Izzie that night and practically ordered the two of them to leave the hospital. The pair were walking to the parking lot later that evening when Alex spoke, “You know Meredith and Shepherd got married today?"

"They went to the courthouse?" Jo raised her eyebrows.

"Nope. They never made it there. They wrote down some vows on a post-it and signed it and now according to them, they're married," Alex chuckled.

"Maybe we should do that. Sign a post-it and call it a day," Jo wondered aloud as they hopped into the car. “No need for a fuss.” 

"No way," Alex shook his head as he turned the keys into the ignition. "If we get married, we're gonna do it right. We’re gonna make a fuss. We're going to have a huge wedding with tons of food and booze and you're gonna put on a white dress and I'll wear a tux."

"Sounds like you have it all planned out," Jo mused. "So how do you plan on paying for all of this? Because I'm an intern and make no money."

"You've got to give me a while to save up for it," Alex’s face twitched up into a small smile. “I’m gonna give you everything.” 

“I don’t need everything. I just need you,” Jo placed her hand on Alex’s cheek. “The past few months have taught me that you never know what day is your last. So, I’m gonna live everyday like it’s my last day with you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

  
  



	16. part sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hospital mergers and new friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. We are so excited for you to read this next part. Let us know what you think in the comments. Happy reading!!

———

#  **(July 2008)**

"Today's the day," Jo announced as she walked into Meredith's hospital room, a bowl of soup in hand. She placed the steaming bowl on the bedside tray in front of Meredith. "I saw a whole bunch of people in orange scrubs swarm into the lobby when we walked in. I didn't feel like socializing with them so early, so I changed quickly and I decided to come see you."

"I know. I saw them all walk past my room. I can't believe I'm stuck in this bed while the Mercy - Westers try to steal our jobs," Meredith groaned. "I just had to go and donate part of my liver to my father so that my sister wouldn't lose another parent."

"And Lexie loves you all the more for it," Jo grinned. "Look, if it's any consolation, I made everyone promise we'd come in to update you on how things are going."

“Thank you,” Meredith clutched Jo’s hands gratefully. “Wait, isn’t today your first day as a resident? Why aren’t you in the lounge?”

“Because Webber is assigning each of us a resident from Mercy West that will shadow us today to get familiar with and I really do not want to be shadowed by the enemy today,” Jo huffed in annoyance. “I’m already frustrated because Izzie interrupted Alex and I this morning because she wanted to borrow one of my long sleeves. So, I never got laid.”

Meredith laughed, “I hope that Derek and I are still as crazy about each other as you two are after four and a half years together.”

“You know, before Alex, I never knew it could be that good,” Jo thought back to the early days of their relationship. “I swear I had more sex that first week of our relationship than I’d had in my entire life, up until that point. I’ve had great sex before and it’s not like I didn’t love sex before, but I swear, Meredith, Alex awoke something in me that I didn’t know existed. It was just… different with him. And it still is. Every single time I feel like I might burst at the seams.”

“Wow, Wilson. Alex is that good in bed?” Meredith chuckled as she teased her friend a bit. 

“Even better,” Jo hummed, joining in on Meredith’s joke. “You really have no idea. He is… talented.”

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there because I definitely do not want to hear what Alex is like in bed," Meredith shuddered. "You need to go to the resident's lounge and find your Mercy-Wester. Don't want to be late."

"Ugh, fine," Jo frowned and stood up from where she had perched herself on Meredith's bed. "I'll be back later with updates." 

  
  


***

“Hey,” Jo met up with Alex in the hallway and smiled. “I thought you were in the lounge.”

“No, I dropped off my stuff while Webber was giving them the tour and his speech so that I didn’t have to associate with them,” Alex said as he smoothed down his scrub top. “I left my pager in my cubby though, so I had to come back.”

“Well, you know you’re getting assigned a resident from Mercy West right?” Jo reminded him. 

“Dammit,” Alex frowned. “I forgot about that.”

As they approached the lounge, they heard some commotion coming from inside.

“I said take it out.”

“Great. I got the crazy one next to me.”

“Oh, you want to fight? Cause I will.” 

Alex and Jo walked into the lounge and watched Izzie stand up in front of a woman in orange scrubs. The pair raised their eyebrows and called out to her, “Izzie! Iz.”

“I will fight you. You’re pretty tiny,” Izzie’s tall frame loomed over the pixie-haired woman’s. “I could take you down in just a couple of seconds.”

Alex reached out to grab Izzie’s arms, pulling her back from the other resident, “Come on. Come on.”

“Stop!” Izzie protested.

“Come on,” Alex continued to pull her back away from the group and pushed her out the door, Jo grabbing his pager and following them out the door.

“They took George’s cubby,” Izzie finally explained as she, Cristina, Lexie, Alex, and Jo stood over the balcony, watching as the orange scrubs moved around the hospital. 

Jo put a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Okay, I say we go hang out in Mer’s room.”

“Sounds good to me,” Cristina turned and led the way back to their friend’s hospital room.

“They’re locusts,” Meredith said as they finally arrived and updated her about this morning’s occurrences. “Comfortable locusts, feeding on our surgeries.”

“It’s rude,” Izzie popped a grape into her mouth. “There should at least be a couple days where they act like guests before they put their feet up on the coffee table.”

“And what’s with orange scrubs?” Lexie peeked through the window into the hallway. “What, ours aren’t good enough for ‘em?”

“We ran out. They’re on back order,” Jo informed. “Randall from the supply company says they’ll be here in a week.”

“Why bother ordering new ones when we can just give these to our replacements?” Cristina deadpanned. 

“We’re not gonna be replaced by anybody,” Alex shook his head. 

“They’re here. It’s over,” Cristina sighed and sat down in one of the chairs. 

“Hey. We are not some stupid hosts. They can’t invade us,” Meredith shook her head. “They can’t attach themselves to our faces and then while we’re eating spaghetti, explode out of our chests and skitter across the floor. This is our ship. This is  _ our _ ship.”

Lexie wrinkled her brow, “Excuse me. Are you—are you quoting a Sigourney Weaver movie?”

“Shut up,” Meredith shrugged.

Izzie chuckled, “That’s what happens when you live here. You watch a  _ lot _ of TV.”

“We own this hospital,” Meredith looked around the room at her friends. “We were born in this hospital. And we will hold this hospital with our last gasping breath. Go out there and go get surgeries before they take them. Go! And I want a full report by the end of the day.”

“Fine.” The doctors sighed and shuffled out of room, leaving only Cristina behind to sulk with Meredith. 

***

“Okay, where do you want us?” Jo asked as she, Alex, and Lexie walked into the ER. 

“Uh, at this point, anywhere is good,” Hunt looked around the crowded emergency room. 

“At Mercy West we do zones. When it’s super busy, we just give everyone a zone, a space. The nurses put a person in that space, you know it’s your patient. Helps you get to them quicker,” the male in orange scrubs suggested, putting his stethoscope around his neck as the two women behind him nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah, well, this is the ER not a school yard. We’re not playing four square,” Alex rolled his eyes.

“I like it,” Hunt announced. “It’s a good idea. Let’s try it. What’s your name?”

“Jackson Avery.”

Owen shook Jackson’s hand, “Dr. Avery, I’m Dr. Hunt. It’s all yours. Zone away.”

Lexie, Jo, and Alex all exchanged a look. Jo let out a groan, “Ugh. That’s the one. That’s the resident that’s supposed to shadow me.”

“That guy?” Alex pointed and made a face. “I can already tell he’s a jerk.”

“Takes one to know one, I guess,” Lexie mumbled, causing Jo to snicker. “I know we’re supposed to hate them, but is it wrong of me to say that he’s kind of hot? Like really hot?”

“Um, yes,” Jo looked at her friend strangely. “Besides, aren’t you with Sloan?”

“Hey! I can look,” Lexie waved her hands slightly. “I just won’t touch.”

“Let’s go,” Alex motioned for the girls to follow him. 

***

“You were right. I hate him,” Jo slammed her tray down on the table as they reconvened for lunch in the cafeteria. “But not because he’s a jerk. Because he’s really freaking nice!”

“This blows,” Alex placed his tray next to hers and sat down. 

“Getting your ass kicked?” Cristina asked. 

“Shut up,” Alex responded, his mouth full of food. He looked over to Jo. “I heard yours got a standing ovation in the ER.”

“Yours is the one who saved the whole ER from the maniac with the hammer?” Lexie looked up from the little book she was reading. 

“Okay, he didn’t save anyone,” Jo shook her head in annoyance. “He did some stupid ninja leap and then tripped a guy. I used actual medicine to stop a person from dying.”

“At least he’s pretty to look at,” Cristina shrugged. “I’m too depressed to practice medicine today.”

“Well, mine has a notebook, a notebook that she takes notes in. Notes of a very personal nature, and I stole it,” Lexie held up the tiny pink book for them to see.

“You what?” Cristina’s eyes widened. 

“Give it,” Alex stuck his hand out.

“No. No, I—I’m not sinking down to their level,” Lexie put the book in her lab coat pocket. “They are vindictive and they are aggressive and—and they are  _ not _ team players. And if we are not careful, that spirit is going to infect our hospital. We have to fight it.”

Cristina nodded, “Which is why you stole the notebook?”

“And read it?” Alex added. 

“And now you’re hiding it from us?” Jo looked at her friend, amused.

“Well, she’s not a very nice person.”

“Hey,” Izzie walked up to the table, two coffees in hand. 

“Ooh! Can I have that?” Alex reached out to grab the coffee. 

“No. This isn’t for you,” Izzie slapped his hand away. 

“Who’s it for then?” Jo asked. 

“Charles.”

“Your Mercy-Wester?” Cristina exclaimed. 

“They’re handing us out asses on a plate, and you’re serving him coffee?” Alex made a face. 

“Charles is actually kind of awesome,” Izzie shrugged. “If you all could get past your sad, little egos, you would realize you can’t write off all the Mercy West residents just because you feel threatened.”

“We don’t feel threatened,” Jo called out as Izzie turned and walked away. She looked back at the table. “Okay, maybe a little threatened.”

  
  


***

At the end of the day, Jo was exhausted. She’d spent the entirety of her first official day as a resident getting her ass handed to her by pretty-boy Avery. All she wanted was to change out of her scrubs and get back to the house and maybe finally get laid. 

She had pulled her scrub top off when she heard some noise behind her. Glancing back, she saw Avery and a few of the other Mercy-Westers walk in to leave for the night. Ignoring them, Jo continued to change out of her scrubs and into her street clothes.

“Hey, Wilson.”

Jo turned at the sound of her name, her shirt only halfway on and huffed, “What?”

Avery gave her a quick once over and cracked a charming smile, “Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot today. I think it’s safe to say that I overstepped and should’ve backed off a bit. What do you say we start over?”

“Ya think?” Jo finished smoothing down her shirt and crossed her arms. “Okay. I guess we can start over.”

“Great,” he extended his hand out to her. “Hi, Dr. Wilson, my name is Jackson.”

Despite herself, Jo cracked a small smile and shook his hand in return, “Hi, Jackson. Call me Jo.”


	17. part seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> boobs & Harvard Med School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this next installment of the med school fic. It’s kind of a filler chapter but it sets up some things that will happen soon. Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

**  
*****

**(July 2008 Cont.)**

"You ready for day two of dragging around your Mercy-Wester?" Alex asked as he and Jo walked into the resident's lounge the next morning. 

"Yeah, you know I have a feeling that today will be better," Jo placed her things in her cubby. “Jackson apologized yesterday for being a show-off, know-it-all.”

“Jackson?” Alex scrunch his face in confusion. “You’re on a first name basis with your Mercy-Wester? He’s the enemy. I hate my Mercy-Wester. She’s the worst.”

“She’s the one with the pixie cut that Izzie almost beat up yesterday, right?” Jo began to undress so she could change into her scrubs. “Yeah, she seems like a bitch.”

“Yup,” Alex answered distractedly, staring at Jo in appreciation as she removed her shirt. “Yeah… such a bitch.”

Picking up on Alex’s suddenly indifferent tone, Jo turned and slapped him on the shoulder, “My eyes are up here, mister. Stop staring at my boobs.”

There was a shuffle and a couple giggles coming from the door as the Mercy-Westers—Jackson, April, Charles, and Reed walked into the lounge and found their cubbies, eavesdropping on the conversation between the pair. Alex checked out his girlfriend again, “What? They are great boobs and I enjoy looking at them.” 

“Ugh,” Alex and Jo turned around to see Cristina standing behind the two of them with a disgusted look on her face. “I thought we were past this whole thing where Alex gets handsy at work.” 

“Hey, I didn’t even touch them. I barely looked at them for two seconds,” Alex defended. 

“Whatever, stop eye-fucking her in the lounge,” Cristina rolled her eyes. “Wilson, put your shirt on before Alex drags you to an on-call room.”

“No one is dragging anyone to an on-call room,” Alex shook his head. “I made one comment about her boobs.”

“Well keep your boob comments to yourself,” Cristina frowned. 

“You’re one to talk, Yang,” Alex crossed his arms in front of him. “You and Hunt do it all the time all over the hospital. And before him, it was Burke.”

“Shut the hell up. Or might I remind you of the amount of times I’ve covered your ass while you were too busy having sex instead of doing your job,” Cristina countered. 

“What the hell did we get ourselves into?” April Kepner asked as she turned to her fellow Mercy West residents. 

“I don’t know but shut up, I’m trying to listen,” Reed Adams hushed her friend and the four Mercy-Westers leaned in closer to hear the rest of the conversation. 

“Ugh, are they arguing about sex and boobs again?” Izzie groaned as she walked into the lounge. She looked over at the residents in orange. “This is a daily thing. Alex is very... open about two things: his sex life and his obsession with Jo’s boobs. You get used to it eventually.”

“Doesn’t that make her uncomfortable?” April furrowed her brows. 

“What? No, it’s Alex. Why would it make her uncomfortable?” Izzie gave the girl a puzzled look. The new residents had to know that Alex and Jo were an item. It was obvious to anyone with a set of eyes. “Jo may act like she doesn’t like the compliments and stares, but don’t let her fool you into thinking she’s all innocent. Trust me when I tell you, she’s anything but that. We live in the same house, across the hall from each other actually.” 

“Huh, interesting,” Jackson nodded his head. “Looks like today is gonna be more fun than I thought it would be.” 

“Alright I need two residents to⎯what the hell is going on in here? Why is no one ready?” Bailey walked into the lounge and looked around at the residents. “Stop standing around and get dressed.”

“I’m ready Dr. Bailey!” Jo stuck her arm through the hole in her shirt and straightened her top out. “I’ll go with you. Anything to get out of here.”

“Great,” Bailey gave her a curt nod. “Wilson, you and your Mercy West shadow, come with me.” 

“Avery! Let’s go,” Jo motioned and followed Dr. Bailey out the door. 

The three of them proceeded to do rounds on all their patients before finally getting a break before surgery that day, “Okay. I’m going to need both of you for that surgery. It is complicated and I’m going to need both of your hands in there assisting me.”

Both Jo and Jackson nodded at Bailey who spoke again, “Alright, let’s go get coffee and a snack because we will most likely be having a very late lunch today.”

They went outside to the coffee cart, bought their drinks, and sat outside on one of the benches. Jackson was getting grilled by Bailey about his competencies and background when Jo finally made a connection, “Hold on… Avery. That wouldn’t as in the Harper Avery Foundation would it? Or Catherine Avery.”

“She’s my mother,” Jackson sighed. “And Harper Avery is my grandfather.”

“Wait, that’s amazing! What was it like being raised by some of the best surgeons in the world?” Jo asked excitedly. 

“It was like being taught from a young age that you are going to inherit the entire foundation, so better not screw this up,” Jackson scoffed. “My mother and my grandfather weren’t exactly the best when it came to parenting. I went to boarding school for a bit, I had tons of nannies, my dad walked out on us. It wasn’t exactly kid friendly.”

“Well, it’s better than growing up with no parents and having to live in your car at sixteen,” Jo shrugged.

“You were a foster kid? You lived in your car?” Bailey scrunched her face in question. “How come I didn’t know this?”

“Well, I don’t tell everyone all the time because then you get pity looks. You see, like the ones you and Jackson are giving me right now,” Jo pointed to their faces. “The only people who really know that story are Alex and Lexie. Mer and Izzie know bits and pieces, but Lexie and Alex are the only ones who know the whole thing. Lexie because she’s my best friend and Alex because, well, you know. And he grew up very similar to me.”

“Karev was a foster kid?” Bailey asked. 

“Yeah, for a while,” Jo nodded. “It’s not my story to tell but he was for a while there.” 

“Huh,” Bailey raised her eyebrows in slight awe. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I just gained some more respect for the both of you.” 

“Thanks, I think?” Jo chuckled. 

“Okay, it’s time to go in for surgery. Stuff your face and hurry up,” Bailey ordered.

  
  


***

“Wait, you went to Harvard med?” Jo asked as she and Jackson walked down the hall towards the lounge a few days later. “How come I never saw you? You’re only a year ahead of me. If I wasn’t with Lexie, I was with Alex. Most of the time, the three of us were together hanging out in our apartment. I met some of the people in your year.”

“Alex?” Jackson furrowed his brows. “Who’s that again? I’m so bad with names.”

“Karev. The one suffering this week because he’s being shadowed by your friend Reed,” Jo giggled. “He went to Harvard with us. Graduated the same year as you.”

“Oh yeah Karev! No wonder I thought he looked familiar. I was always too embarrassed to go ask,” Jackson nodded. “He was the guy that slept with all the girls in our year and then proceeded to sleep with some of the girls in your class too. Then after Christmas that year he stopped hanging out with the people in our class. I never really saw him after that.”

“Yup, that was definitely Alex,” Jo chuckled. “He was kind of a major player back then.”

“I mean so was I, but eventually you outgrow those things,” Jackson shrugged.

“Ha, you make it sound like you stopped being a player,” Jo teased. 

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Jackson placed a hand on his chest in mock offense as they walked into the empty residents lounge. 

“Please, have you seen yourself?” Jo raised an eyebrow and walked over to her cubby. “You’ve got the whole frat boy attitude down pat.”

“Whatever,” Jackson rolled his eyes, causing Jo to laugh.

Alex walked into the lounge, a confused look on his face as he saw his girlfriend laughing with Avery. He walked up to his cubby which was next to Jo’s and nudged her hip, “Hey.”

“Hey! How was your day?” Jo asked. Alex shot her an unimpressed look. “That bad huh?” 

“Not as bad as Yang’s though,” Alex sat on the bench and began untying his shoes. “She grabbed me on my way out of the OR and said that we needed to meet her at the bar as soon as our shifts were over.”

“Yikes,” Jo grimaced. She reached over and slapped Alex on the side of the head. “Also, how come you never told me you knew Jackson?” Jo pointed over to her new friend who sent a short wave their way. “He was in your class at Harvard and you didn’t even think to mention it?”

“I didn’t realize it until like two days ago,” Alex looked over at Jackson. “I knew you looked familiar, but I was blanking for a minute until Jo mentioned that you were Harper Avery’s grandson. When I put the pieces together I didn’t want to say anything and make things weird.”

“Nah it’s okay man,” Jackson shook his head. “Honestly, I didn’t figure it out until today when Jo said that she went to Harvard with you and Lexie.”

“Well, we’re going to Joe’s across the street if you want to join us later,” Alex decided to extend an olive branch to his former classmate. Besides, Jo seemed to like the guy enough. He had to be an okay dude. Alex turned to look at Jo. “You want me to wait for you or will you meet us there?”

“I’m coming. Just let me change.” 


	18. part eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisses and crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this next installment of the med school fic. Let us know what you think in the comments!

**(July 2008 cont.)**

“I don’t like it,” Alex crossed his arms as he sat across from Jo in the booth at the bar. 

“Don’t like what?” Jo took a swig of beer. 

“The way Avery keeps looking at you and flirting with you,” Alex made a face. 

“He is not flirting with me,” Jo threw her head back in a laugh. “He’s being nice and he’s a little tipsy because we’ve been drinking.”

“He’s flirting with you. I think I know what flirting looks like. You forget that I used to be a master at it,” Alex gave her a pointed look. “And you’re flirting back.”

“I am not flirting back!” 

“Okay,” Alex scoffed. 

Jo eyed him carefully for a moment and gasped, “You’re jealous.”

“I am not,” Alex frowned. “I’m just saying that I don’t like it.”

“You are so jealous,” Jo attempted and failed to hold back her laughter. “Wow, I never thought I’d live to see the day that Alex Karev felt threatened by another man’s presence.”

“I’m not threatened,” Alex crossed his arms. Jo looked at him unimpressed and Alex sighed. “Okay I feel a little threatened.”

“Oh, Alex,” Jo pressed her lips together in an effort not to laugh. “Sure, he’s got the looks and his name. Now you don’t have any of those but—”

“Gee thanks,” Alex scowled.

“ _But_ ,” Jo reached across the table to put her hand on his cheek. “I think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. That’s got to count for something.”

“Yeah, yeah,”Alex rolled his eyes and moved to stand up. “I already sent Cristina and Izzie home in a cab. Are you ready to go home?” 

“Yeah, wait for me. I’m gonna use the bathroom first,” Jo pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before getting up from her seat. 

Alex sighed and sat back down at the table, watching Jo walk away as he let his thoughts consume him. He knew he didn’t have anything to worry about but the way that Jo acted around Jackson rubbed him the wrong way no matter how many times she tried to tell him that it was nothing. She loved him, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but he couldn’t help but worry.

Seeing Jo exit the bathroom, Alex grabbed his coat and began to shrug it on when Jackson walked up to her. He watched in silence for a moment as the other man leaned in close to Jo then pressed his lips to hers. Having seen enough, Alex stormed out of the bar in a huff of anger. He couldn’t just leave Jo there without a ride, so he stewed in his anger while he waited for her to show up.

***

Jo brushed her fingers through her hair and readjusted her top before stepping out of the bathroom. If she was lucky Alex wouldn’t be too tired and she’d be able to jump him as soon as they got home, something she’d been craving since he had playfully hit on her in the locker room that morning like he’d done earlier that week. They’d both been so busy that they didn’t have a chance to sneak away to an on call room.

“Hey Jo,” Jo jumped in surprise at Jackson’s voice, the man standing right outside of the bathroom as she exited. “Listen I don’t know about you but it’s been a long day and I could really use some… stress relief.”  
  
Picking up on the now obvious flirting, Jo rolled her eyes as Jackson leaned closer to her, “So could I, that’s why I’m going home right now to crawl in bed and-”

“Why don’t you let me help with that,” before she could protest, Jackson’s lips were on her own, his arm snaking around her waist as he attempted to deepen the kiss. Jo pushed him away, turning her head to the side to avoid his lips as they now lingered on her neck. “C’mon Jo, you’ve been flirting with me all week. I could show you a fun time.”  
  
“Yeah so could my boyfriend, who I’m sure wouldn’t be too happy to see you all over me,” with one final push, Jo freed herself from Jackson’s grasp. “You know, I really was just trying to be nice to you and help you out but now I can tell that Alex was right and you’re just a sleaze ball.”

Storming off, Jo headed back to the booth she and Alex had been sharing, only to find him gone. She grabbed her coat and headed outside, checking to see that he was waiting in the car for her before climbing into the passenger seat.

“Ugh I need a long shower after that disaster,” Jo shuddered, turning towards Alex who was staring straight ahead with his knuckles gripping the steering wheel tightly. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Nothing, I’m just tired,” Alex finally moved, backing the car up and leaving the parking lot. Jo furrowed her eyebrows as she trailed one hand to touch his thigh, his muscles instantly tensing. “Knock it off Jo, I’m trying to drive.”

“You love when I do that. Besides I was thinking we could fool around when we get home,” Jo smirked, attempting to slide her fingers further up his leg but instead getting them swatted away. “What’s up with you?”  
  
“I’m just not in the mood,” Alex huffed, keeping his eyes on the road as his jaw set in anger. “Maybe you can ask Avery to help you out. You two seemed cozy enough back there.”   
  
“Really Alex? This is because Jackson kissed me,” Jo’s voice was almost a shout as she looked to her boyfriend, his eyes still locked straight ahead. “I pushed him off of me! And called him a sleaze bag because that’s exactly what he is. You really think I would cheat on you?”

The silence that fell over the car then broke Jo’s heart as the realization that Alex truly did believe that dawned on her. Her shoulders fell, defensive attitude gone as tears welled up in her eyes, "Oh my God. You do believe that I would cheat on you."

"Well, you haven't exactly given me any reason to believe you wouldn't," Alex scowled. "I choose you everyday, over everyone."

"And you don't think I do?" Jo wiped away a few tears that had escaped her eyes. "Alex, you know I love you. You know that I only want you."

"Then why hell did you kiss Avery?"

"I told you, he kissed me. I didn't ask for it. He thought that I was dropping hints for him to make a move when he—"

"He thought you were dropping hints because you were!" Alex clenched his jaw. "You have been flirting with him all week. Maybe you're just so far into whatever the hell he's offering that you don't even notice."

"I'm not into anything with him Alex! And maybe if you'd pay a little more attention to anything I've said in the past, I don't know, four and a half years, you would know that I would never betray your trust. Are you really that jealous that you can't recognize that I'm all in with you and I've never given you a reason to doubt that?" Jo stared at Alex incredulously.

"Are you really that insecure and screwed up from your childhood that you take every opportunity to be desired and seek validation from other guys?”

Alex knew he’d screwed up big time immediately after the words left his mouth. He took his eyes off the road for a couple seconds to see the look of utter shock and pain on Jo’s face. It was almost too much for him to handle. The redness in her eyes and the quivering of her lip and she willed herself not to burst into tears. Alex couldn’t watch her knowing that he was the reason for that pain. He focused his attention back on the road and continued the drive in a heavy silence.

As soon as he pulled into the driveway of the frat house Jo was out of the car, storming inside and rushing past Derek who was sitting on the couch. Alex slammed the door behind him as he came into the house, voice booming as he too ignored his friends, “Jo get back here! We need to talk about this! Where the hell are you going?”  
  
“Why does it matter, you’re not going to listen to what I have to say anyways,” Jo walked out of the room she shared with Alex, pajamas in pillow in hand as she entered Izzie’s room. “Don’t try and bother me, I’m in no mood to talk to you Alex.”

Izzie’s door slammed loudly, the blonde looking up from the magazine in her hands to Jo’s tear stained face. As soon as their eyes met Jo collapsed into a fit of tears, Izzie quickly standing to gather her in her arms, “Men are stupid and they don’t deserve us. Now come and tell me what happened.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*


	19. part nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confrontations and loft spaces

**(July 2008 cont.)**

The next day was rough for both Jo and Alex. Neither of them got much sleep the night before and Alex realized very quickly that Jo was actively avoiding him when he walked into Meredith's hospital room and saw this disapproving look, on her face.

"You know?" Alex made a face.

"Izzie told me," Meredith replied. She huffed and narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you said that to her."

"I can't believe I said that to her either,” Alex sighed. “I was angry and when I get angry, I lash out.”

“Yeah, I know,” Meredith shook her head at him. “Alex, you messed up. Badly. You came for her where it hurts the most. You don’t shove someone’s insecurities in their face.”

“I know that, Mer,” Alex huffed. “I know that… I was just so—so angry that I wanted her to hurt the way I was hurting. Which now that I say it out loud it sounds stupid because the one I should be hurting is Avery. God, I just want to pummel his face.”

“Don’t do that,” Meredith warned. “Nothing good can ever come out of that.”

“I make no promises,” Alex excused himself and left the room. 

He was on Torres’ service today and would be helping assist on a spinal surgery with her and Shepherd. Alex walked up to the patient room where he was supposed to meet the two attendings and prep the patient for surgery. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Avery present, standing beside Shepherd.

The surgery would take all day, and Alex was dreading being stuck in an OR with his fellow resident. Alex scowled and glared at Jackson the entirety of the operation. 

Jackson on the other hand, felt nervous. When he’d woken up that morning, the night before had been a blur. He’d had so much to drink that he was nursing a pretty bad hangover when he walked into the hospital that morning. He hadn’t even remembered the kiss he’d planted on Jo until he watched her skitter past him in the hallway, refusing to make eye contact. 

He felt bad for what he’d done, because despite what Jo may have been thinking, Jackson wasn’t a bad guy. He was a guy that got a little too cocky after having a little too much to drink and went out in search of hints and clues that hadn’t been there to begin with to make him feel better about trying to make a move on Jo while she was clearly with Karev. 

By the time the surgery ended, Jackson decided that he needed to talk to Alex once and for all, if he ever wanted the stares burning into the back of his head to stop. Jackson needed to find Alex and apologize. He also needed to apologize to Jo.

Jackson decided that the latter would probably be easier to talk to than the former. He made his way to the peds floor where he knew Jo had been working today. Jackson maneuvered his way around the floor searching for the woman he’d hoped he hadn’t completely ruined his friendship with. Finally spotting her, Jackson reached for Jo’s arm and pulled her into an empty linen closet.

“Jackson, listen. I don’t know what you think you saw or felt but I was not—”

“Jo, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Jackson motioned for her to stop talking. “I just wanted to apologize for last night. I’m not usually that guy. I don’t know what came over me, but I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or cause you any trouble. I like you, but I wouldn’t ever try to purposely mess up your relationship. I respect you too much for that.”

Jo eyed him carefully, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jackson tilted his head in confusion.

“I’ll accept your apology,” Jo crossed her arms in front of her. 

“Really?” Jackson’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I thought I was gonna have to work a little harder for that, but thank you.”

“It’s all in the past,” Jo shrugged. “Besides, all you did was open my eyes to issues that were already present in my relationship, so I guess I should thank you.” 

“For what it’s worth, I think you shouldn’t give up so easily. I know Karev isn’t and I know I wouldn’t if I had you,” Jackson smiled shyly. “Anyway, I’m going to go talk to your boyfriend now, so wish me luck.”

“Be careful,” Jo warned. “Alex and I aren’t afraid to throw punches for each other.”

“I will.”

Jackson and Jo walked out of the linen closet and went their separate ways, each going in opposite directions. Alex—who’d come up to peds to see if he could finally get a moment alone with Jo—witnessed as the pair walked out of the room together. 

Alex could see Jackson walking towards him. His fists balled in anger at the thought of what could’ve possibly happened in that linen closet. He clenched his teeth and watched as Jackson approached him and Jo walked out of sight. With his blood boiling in rage just like it had been over the previous hours, he tried to let it go, but failed. Swiftly and without even thinking, his fist found its way to Jackson’s jaw. 

“What the hell, Karev?” Jackson winced while rubbing the impacted area. He felt Alex pull him by his scrub top into an on-call room and didn’t even react when he felt his body pressed against the wall. 

“You listen here, Avery. You come here acting all snazzy and flirty with your money and your last name and your shiny pair of blue eyes, but she is mine, you hear me? Jo is the best thing to ever happen to me, and you are not going to take her away from me,” Alex twisted his hand around the newcomer’s shirt. 

“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Jackson surrendered, putting both his hands up. 

“Yeah, but you did. And from what I remember from med school, you’re not a bad guy, so I have a feeling that you’re going to measure your words and actions from now on,” Alex said, pushing him away and letting go of the taller man. “Now, I hear you got stuff to do, so get going,” he added, eyeing Jackson as he made his way out the door and closed it just to open it again after a few moments. 

“Karev,” Jackson called his attention. “Sorry about your girl,” he said before closing the door one last time and walking away. 

Alex, now feeling a lot calmer than a few minutes before, decided to act mature. Running towards the door, he opened it and chased the other man. 

“Avery,” Alex called out, making him turn around. “Sorry about your jaw.”

  
  
  


***

The next few days, Jo and Alex hardly ever saw each other. Partially because Jo was purposely avoiding him and partially because ever since Izzie, Lexie, and Cristina caught wind of Alex’s major screw-up, they’d been intercepting Alex’s every move. They wouldn’t allow him to get more than a hundred feet within Jo’s presence. 

“Come on, you can’t do this forever. You can’t keep me from talking to her. She’s my girlfriend,” Alex argued with Cristina as she held up a hand in front of him so that he couldn’t walk out of the residents’ lounge to follow Jo. “Look, I know I was an ass, but we share a bedroom and I haven’t seen her in the past three days. She sleeps in Izzie’s room, she comes in to grab her clothes while I’m in the shower, she even took her damn pillow with her. ”

“No you listen right here, Evil Spawn. Jo has never, ever given you a reason not to trust her and now all of a sudden you assume the worst of her? Because what? You feel threatened by pretty-boy’s presence? Because he kissed your girl? What the hell is wrong with you?” Cristina slapped the side of his head. “Is it so horrifying to think that someone else might want her? Jo is hot and smart and funny and way too good to be putting up with your bullshit.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Alex exclaimed. “You think I don’t know that Jo could do so much better than me?” Alex let out a sigh of frustration. “I’m an ass, I’ve always been an ass. Jo saw that side of me and still loved me. She wanted me. Which is great and I’m thankful for it because I think she’s perfect. I think she’s amazing and everything any guy could ever want. So yeah, I feel threatened and I get defensive and mean and I lash out because I’m so freaking terrified she’s gonna realize that she could do so much better than me and leave me. Avery is better than me. He’s got the name and the looks and the money. And he’s a good, decent guy. He’s what she deserves. The years we’ve spent together will mean nothing if she finally realizes that there is someone out there that could offer her more than I ever could.”

“Are you dumb or stupid?” Cristina asked, prompting a scowl from Alex. “No, it’s a serious question. Are you an idiot? Because that might just be the dumbest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.” 

“Oh shut up,” Alex glared at Cristina, walking away from her to sit on the bench behind them. “This is why people don’t tell you things.”

“Alex, I’m not making fun of you. I’m being serious,” Cristina sat next to Alex, eyeing him for a moment before speaking again. “You may be right, Avery might be everything you’re not but Jo doesn't care about that. There could be a million guys better than you lining up at her door begging her to be with them and she’s always going to choose you. She loves you, idiot. I don’t know why honestly, but that’s the only thing she cares about. She doesn’t care about the money or the name or how much that asswipe tries to butter her up with compliments, she’s only got eyes for your dumb ass. Get over your own insecurities before you push her away.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Alex sighed. “I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never loved someone so much that I’m constantly worried that I’ll lose them. I’m used to losing people. I’m used to things being temporary and people turning their back on you or getting sick and being unable to help you or themselves. I’m used to all of that crap. But Jo… Jo’s the first person that I’ve ever had that I really can’t lose. I tell her all the time that I want forever with her, I tell her that I want to grow old with her, have kids with her, marry her one day. I tell her those things on a daily basis, but I hardly ever hear her say them in return. Sure she shows it, but it would be nice to hear it sometimes. It would be nice to  _ know _ that she feels the same way too.”

Unbeknownst to Alex or Cristina, Jo had been listening in on the conversation from outside the lounge. She had left her ID badge in her locker so she’d made her way back down to retrieve it when she stumbled across the conversation going on between the pair of friends. Jo's heart sunk as she heard Alex's words of worry. She had no idea Alex felt that way. It was true, she didn't say it often, but Jo thought she'd made it clear that all she was waiting for was for Alex to ask and she'd marry him in a heartbeat. She didn't know that he was constantly terrified that she'd find someone better for her--as if that person existed--and leave him behind. She had to do something, say something that left him with no doubts about himself and the love she held for him.

  
  


***

  
  


The next morning, Jo walked up to Alex and pulled him into a nearby on-call room, interrupting the conversation he was having with Meredith who'd just returned to work. Alex raised his eyebrows in question when she locked the door behind them, "Oh, now you want to see me? After having Lexie, Izzie, and Cristina block me from getting within a hundred feet of you and switching with you so that you’re not stuck on a case with me all week?”

“Just shut up,” Jo leaned up and grabbed Alex’s face with both hands and leaned in to kiss him. Jo pulled away when she felt him tense up. “Alex, please. Relax.”

“Is this what you want from me? Sex? Because if that’s all you want, might as well go ask Avery. He’s more than willing to give it to you,” Alex pulled away and crossed his arms. 

“Stop being an asshole,” Jo shoved him slightly. “God, I brought you in here because I miss you and I wanted to talk to you. Not because I want to use you for sex. I miss your voice and your hugs and your laugh and notes you slip into the pocket of my lab coat when I’m having a bad day and the way you wrap your arms around me when we sleep. But for some reason you think that I don’t care about those things. That I’m just using you to keep my bed warm until someone else comes along. I thought you knew me better than that.”

Alex had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself as he took a seat on one of the beds, “I’m sorry. I really am, Jo. I was… projecting my worries and fears onto you and that’s not fair to you. Not when all you’ve shown me is love and commitment.”

“I know,” Jo sighed. “Which is why I’m being much more gracious and forgiving than many people who advised me otherwise.” She sat down beside him. “This doesn’t mean that I’m excusing your behavior. Missing you and forgiving you doesn’t mean that what you did wasn’t wrong. It means that I love you enough to know that we are worth getting through this. After everything, what we have is too precious to just throw away.” 

Alex spared a glance at Jo, “You’re not mad?”

“Oh, of course I’m mad. I’m livid and I’m hurt,” Jo replied, causing Alex to wince. “You are my best friend. You know me better than anyone has ever known me. You love me more than anyone has ever loved me. And still, you thought I was capable of betraying you? Of being unfaithful to you?” She blinked away a couple tears. “The fact that you don’t trust me hurt me more than anything. Because I trust you with everything, Alex. Even though it terrifies the crap out of me, I have given you all that I am and trusted you with it. I trust you with my medical decisions, my life, my body, my heart. So yeah, I’m hurt and upset, and I have every right to be. But you also have a right to be scared, because all your life you’ve been told that you aren’t good enough. And I get that, truly. Because for the longest time, I thought the same thing about myself. You know who showed me that I was good enough and worthy of love, though? You. You showed me that. So, now it’s time for me to show that you are too.” 

Jo placed her hands back on Alex’s face, forcing him to look at her, “You are good enough. You are loved and worthy of every single bit of affection and care. You have the best, most kind, and gentle heart, even though you cover it up and I’m the only one who ever really gets to see it. Not everyone’s like you. Not everyone is good. There is no one who could  _ ever _ replace you. Not when you take up every single one of my spare thoughts and when you practically hold my heart in your hands.”

Alex pressed his forehead against Jo’s, “God. I’m a jerk, aren’t I?”

“Sometimes,” Jo chuckled. “But it doesn’t take away from how good you are.”

“I don’t wanna fight anymore,” Alex released a breath. “I know I’ve still got things I need to work on and fix, but I don’t want to fight with you. This whole thing started because I was blinded with jealousy and scared I was gonna lose you. The most ironic thing is that for a minute there, I thought it was over. I thought I had really screwed it up this time. And it would’ve been my fault, because my behavior drove you away.”

“We’re not over,” Jo assured him. “I don’t ever want us to end. I want to die holding your hand like in the super cheesy rom-coms that Izzie and Lexie can watch for hours and sob over.”

“I do too,” Alex kissed Jo soundly. “Come back to our room. I hate sleeping without you. I can’t sleep without you.”

“Me neither,” Jo responded. She stood up and extended her hand. “Come on, we have to get to work. But I’ll see you tonight after our shifts?”

“Yeah.”

  
  


***

  
  


“Would you mind taking a detour?” Jo said as soon as Alex got inside the car later that evening when they walked out of the hospital. 

“Why? Do you need me to drive you somewhere?” he looked at her. She could see the tiredness all over his eyes, but was too excited and nervous to back out. 

“I want to take you somewhere. I know you’re tired, but this is really important to me,” she grabbed his hand. 

“Okay, then. Wherever it is, here we go,” Alex shot a smile at her. 

***

“What are we doing here? What is this place?” Alex frowned as they walked inside the empty space. 

“It’s a loft space,” Jo followed him across the room. 

“Jo, it’s a crime scene,” he turned around, facing her. 

If he was honest, the place looked worse than a crime scene. It had clearly been occupied by wildlife and probably some of the homeless people he had seen outside, the whole room smelling of urine. He couldn’t really understand why Jo had been so insistent on bringing him here. 

“Stop. You’re ruining it,” Jo complained, a frown playing onto her lips. 

“Someone beat me to that,” he chuckled. 

“Shut up. It’s all I can afford,” Jo stopped right in front of him, arms crossed as she avoided meeting his eyes. 

“What?” Alex shook his head in confusion, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

“I took everything. All my savings, everything that I had, and it was almost enough to cover the whole thing,” Jo said. 

“Wait. You’re buying this? Alex stared at her incredulously. 

“Well, we are, if you want to pitch in. I put in an offer,” Jo looked at Alex nervously, sounding almost doubtful about the words coming out of her mouth. 

Alex looked around one more time. The space that had previously looked so useless to him suddenly gained a lot more meaning and potential. Still, he didn’t really know how to respond to what she was saying. 

“This is what I want, Alex. I am very thankful for Meredith. She has been such a good friend, allowing all of us to live with her, but this is what I want. Our own place, for us. I saw this place, and I know it’s not much, and it’s obvious that we won’t be able to live here forever, especially if we ever decide to have a family of our own, but we can make it anything, whatever we want. Because I love you. And I love living with you, but I think it’s time for us to have our own place, just us. If you want that, if that’s what you want too. And, you know, it would make me the happiest person in the world if you did, because there isn’t anyone in the world I’d want to do this with. Hell, there isn’t anyone in the world that makes me safe enough to do this,” Jo paused. “I know I’d don’t say it very often, but I want it on record that I said it twice in one day. I want to be with you until I die. This is a step towards that. I want to build a life and a home with you. So, what do you say?” Jo asked. She was scared, but hopeful he would want to do that with her. 

Alex pulled her close to his chest and closed the space between their lips. “I love you so much, Josephine,” he said, their foreheads touching while they smiled. 

“So, is this a yes?” she asked. 

“This is a hell yes. Let’s make this place our home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you ever doubt that we'd fix it? Let us know what you thought about this chapter and what you'd hope to see later in the comments!


	20. part twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sliced fingers and surprise daughters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this funny, fluffy chapter :)

#  **(November 2008)**

  
  


"You cut off your finger?" Jo exclaimed as she pulled back the curtain in the ER to reveal her best friend sitting there cradling her hand in embarrassment.

"I didn't cut off my finger. I just sliced the tip of my pinky off," Lexie winced.

"How the hell?" Jo shook her head. "You know your way around the kitchen."

"Mark has a daughter," Lexie blurted out. 

“He has a what?” 

“He has a daughter, Jo. A seventeen year old daughter!” Lexie whisper-yelled. “It wouldn’t be so bad if she was seven or eight, I could handle that. But he’s got a seventeen-year old,  _ pregnant,  _ daughter.”

Jo’s eyebrows raised, “She’s seventeen? She’s pregnant?”

“Yes,” Lexie nodded frantically. “And she’s going to be staying with us for a while. Now you see why I sliced the tip of my finger.”

Jo laughed, “Only something like this would happen to you.”

“So it’s true? That girl is Sloan’s daughter?” Alex popped his head through the curtain to see Lexie sitting on the bed, cradling her hand and let out a laugh. “Nice one, Little Grey.”

Lexie narrowed her eyes, “Shut up. You’re one to talk. With how you used to get around, who knows how many kids you’ve got walking around out there. At this point, you could have a teenager or almost teenager too.”

“God, that might actually be my worst nightmare,” Alex pressed a hand to his chest. “Having a kid you’ve never met before, show up at your job saying, ‘hey, I think you’re my dad’ might be every guy’s biggest fear.” 

“Really?” Jo chuckled at her boyfriend’s terrified expression. 

“Yup,” Alex nodded, lost in thought for a few seconds. “Yeah, definitely terrifying. Excuse me while I go call all my exes and make sure I don’t have any nine, ten, eleven year old kids out there.”

Jo laughed at Alex’s antics and turned her attention back to her friend, “What are you going to do?”

“Well, I love Mark and we live together, so I guess I’m going to have to learn how to deal with it,” Lexie answered. “It would’ve been easier if she were, I don’t know, six? But seventeen? I’m twenty-five. I’m two years younger than everyone in our class. How did I get the pregnant teen stepdaughter?”

“Do you even want kids?” Jo asked her friend. 

“Yes? No? I don’t know,” Lexie shrugged. “I definitely don’t want them right now. I’m still so young. I was scared of moving in with him, for crying out loud. And now I’m supposed to figure out if I wanna be a good stepmom to his kid and  _ grandkid  _ that’s on its way?”

“Aww, the baby will call you Granny Lexie,” Jo teased. 

“God no,” Lexie shuddered. “Enough about me. What about you? Why are you and Alex working today? It’s Thanksgiving. You always try to take the holidays off so that you can spend them together.”

“Neither of us could get today off, so we decided to take tomorrow off instead,” Jo answered. “Besides, the good thing about celebrating tomorrow is that the restaurants are open which means that neither of us have to try and fail at preparing a nice meal.” 

Lexie laughed, “You know, you could always take a cooking class.” 

“I’m a surgical resident, I don’t have time to take cooking classes,” Jo shook her head. “I would like to learn, though. I can do the basics, but all I keep thinking about is how one day, Alex and I are going to have kids and I don’t want them to live off of take out. Kids should have good, home-cooked meals. Even if that means Alex and I have to suffer through a couple cooking classes to make it happen. I want our kids to have everything neither of us had.” 

“You talking so openly about having kids?” Lexie’s eyes widened. “What the hell has Karev done to you?” 

“It’s so weird. Because five years ago, I would’ve never considered it,” Jo shrugged. “He makes me dream of a future and family.” 

“Wow, Jo Wilson is growing up,” Lexie’s lips pulled into a genuine smile. “Are you going to wait long to make it happen? Are you getting to that point in your life?” 

“Who knows?” Jo’s eyes shined. “Maybe I’m already there.” 

Lexie gasped, “You want to have kids with Alex.” 

“Yeah,” Jo chuckled and shook her head. “Call me crazy, but I want it so badly.” 

“So then, what are you waiting for?” Lexie asked.

“I don’t think he’s there yet,” Jo confessed. “I look at him and I just… I want to have his babies. But then I stare at him a little longer and chicken out of telling him anything. Also, I don’t know if he wants to be a dad yet. You heard him when he was in here a couple minutes ago. He said that having a kid out there that he’s never met before is his worst nightmare. I don’t want to pressure him into something he isn’t ready for. It’s a big decision.” 

“Well, you have to talk to him eventually,” Lexie pointed out. 

“I know,” Jo sighed. “Not today, though. Or tomorrow. I will one day.” 

“Listen, for what it’s worth, I think you’re underestimating him,” Lexie tilted her head to the side in thought. “I think he said what he said because thought of him having a kid with someone who wasn’t you was what scared him. Or maybe it was the thought of not knowing he had a kid and the fear of being like his own dead-beat dad. And I can't believe I’m saying this about Alex Karev of all people, but I don’t think it has anything to do with not being ready to have kids. I think, if given the chance, Alex would knock you up tomorrow.” 

“Really?” Jo raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh for sure,” Lexie nodded. “He just seems like one of those guys who has a pregnancy kink but you wouldn’t know it until you got pregnant.” 

“What?” Jo burst into laughter. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?” 

“Oh come on,” Lexie rolled her eyes. “Has he ever called you ‘mine’ in bed?” 

“What—I am—I am not answering that question,” Jo stuttered awkwardly, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. 

“You just did,” Lexie scrunched her face in amusement. “Anyway… he’s the possessive type. He’s the guy who gets off on making you feel good and knowing that he’s the only one who gets to make you feel that way. Imagine if you were knocked up with his kid. Please, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He definitely has a secret pregnancy kink.” 

“I—I don’t even know how to respond to that,” Jo stared at her best friend in disbelief. 

“It’s because you know I’m right,” Lexie grinned smugly. 

“Okay, I’m leaving,” Jo got up from her spot on Lexie’s hospital bed. “I’ll get someone to come look at your finger.” 

“Ooh, are you going to find Alex and have hot baby-making sex now?” Lexie teased mercilessly. 

“I should’ve never told you anything,” Jo made a face. “I am not going to go make a baby with Alex.” 

“Wow, I definitely missed out on the context of this conversation,” Mark interrupted, causing the two women to jump in surprise. “What? Don’t mind me. I want to hear this. Continue.” 

“I need to leave,” Jo opened the curtain and walked away, hearing the chuckles behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy this one? Let us know what you think in the comments!


	21. part twenty-one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peds surgeons and preemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Nina's birthday, here's the next installment of the med school fic. Let us know what you think in the comments!

**(January 2009)**

“Hey, mister,” Jo knocked on the doorframe to announce her presence in the room with a smile on her face, that appeared the second she saw the view in front of her. 

“Hey! How did you find me?” Alex smiled, his voice just above a whisper. 

“A little birdie told me about your whereabouts,” she allowed herself into the room. 

“It was Bailey, right? I’m gonna have to have a word with her about this. The amount of people coming over to take a look at what’s happening here is killing me,” Alex grunted, throwing his head back, his hand never leaving the tiny back of the newborn nestled against his chest. 

“Yeah, we can talk to her together, because I’m not a big fan of learning that a bunch of people are showing up to check on my shirtless boyfriend looking all hot holding a baby. That sight is mine to see and mine alone,” Jo joked, pulling up a chair and sitting by his side. 

“Don’t worry. It was mainly Sloan and Shepherd making fun of me,” he looked at her, finally being able to take in her presence. 

“How is she doing?” Jo asked, grabbing the baby’s hand. “She’s so tiny.”

“Jo, this is really cool. I was sure she wasn’t going to make it. That’s why I held her in the first place. No baby should die without having ever been held, so I did it. Bailey got all scientific when she saw her numbers getting better when I picked her up, so here we are. I think she’ll be okay,” he looked down at the tiny body on his chest. 

“Yeah. This is cool,” Jo said calmly, but her mind was almost exploding with so many thoughts that came to her when she found Alex with that baby. 

“You going home?” Alex asked, placing the pieces of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ears. 

“I don’t think so. Can I keep you company tonight?” Jo smiled. 

“Well, unfortunately you won’t be able to be my main chick tonight, but you’re more than welcome to join us, if you’re okay with it,” Alex grinned. 

“I’m more than okay with it.”

———

“Good job, Karev. You saved that baby’s life,” Bailey smiled at him. Alex and Jo spent the night with that baby who didn’t leave Alex’s chest until the sun came up and she was—to the surprise of everyone who was taking care of her—stable enough to not even need an incubator and could go straight to a warmer instead. 

“Thank you, Dr. Bailey,” Alex smiled gratefully at his mentor. He looked over the woman’s shoulder and staring at his girlfriend, who was looking at the baby in front of her. 

“Did Wilson spend the night with you?” Bailey asked. 

“Yeah. She wanted to keep me company,” Alex explained as he cast a loving glance over to Jo.

“Well, in that case, I’ll figure a way out to put someone on your services. You can both go home and rest,” Bailey said. 

“Are you sure?” Alex asked. 

“Don’t worry. Enjoy your day off,” Bailey insisted, walking away. “And, Karev!” she turned. “You’d be good in peds, you know that? You get invested, you have good instincts, you stick to your instincts. You’d be good in peds.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Bailey,” Alex said loudly with a smile on his face that only grew when his eyes landed on Jo once again. She was standing above the incubator with a soft expression on her face. He walked back into the room and wrapped his arm around her. “We get to go home for the day.” 

“Really?” Jo turned her head to face him. 

“Yes. Bailey gave us the day off,” Alex traced his fingers across the baby’s delicate face. 

Silence took over the room for a while before he broke it, “It felt good having her on my chest. It made me a bit sad to put her down.” Alex admitted. 

“It’s a good thing that you could, though. It means she is well enough to not need you anymore,” Jo pointed out. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go home,” he grabbed her hand before taking a step closer to the infant warmer. “You were a very good company last night. I promise I’ll come back and check on you tomorrow, okay?” Alex whispered into the baby’s side, but was unintentionally loud enough to be heard by Jo, who smiled at the interaction. 

“Let’s go home.”

———

“Do you think I’d be any good in peds?” Alex asked, joining Jo in bed and running his fingers across her back. 

“What?” she lifted her head from the pillow with a smile on her lips

“I’ve been considering it for a while now. First it was when I was working with Addison my intern year, and now Robbins. I don’t know… last night just felt different, you know? Maybe I wouldn’t be so bad at it,” Alex shrugged. 

“I’m sure you’d be an amazing pediatric surgeon if you choose to be one,” Jo grinned widely. 

“You really think that?” he asked. 

Jo nodded at him, trying not to spit out all the words she was holding back at him, but also trying to figure a way out to let him know what she was thinking, “You know another role I’m sure you’d be amazing at?” 

Alex moved his eyes back to her, eyebrows raised.

“I’m sure you’ll be the most amazing father to our baby,” Jo smiled, watching as Alex’s eyes grew larger and larger and laughed at his expression. “I’m serious.”

“Are you?” Alex tried to say the next words, but couldn’t. His face lit up as soon as her words hit his ears. 

“No. I’m not pregnant,” Jo chuckled, trying to focus on the message she was trying to get across. “I want to have kids with you. I see how you are with the little ones, and it really makes me want to have kids with you. I know we’re both residents and we hardly have any free time, but I think I’m ready to start trying. That is, if you are.”

“If having a kid is what you want, I can be ready,” Alex sat up straight in the bed. “I’m ready. Let’s do it.” He stood up and took off his pajama pants he had put on as soon as they got home, even though it was still quite early in the morning. “Let’s make a baby.” 

Alex looked at Jo’s shocked face and tried to keep his bad boy façade intact, but he was bursting with love for the woman in front of him, so his lips curled up into a lopsided smile. 

“I don’t mean right now, you moron,” Jo laughed at him. 

“What? I don’t get it. Don’t you wanna try for a baby?” Alex shook his hands around in confusion. 

“Well, yes and no,” Jo sat up, trying to explain her thoughts to him, but he started talking before she could figure a way out to say what she wanted to him. 

“So, how’s this gonna work? Are we actually gonna try and have sex when you’re ovulating or…?” Alex asked. 

“God, no. That’s so much unnecessary pressure. Let’s just, be us. We have sex when we want to have sex and at the same time, we aren’t preventing anything. That means I probably won’t get pregnant right away, but we know that there’s always a possibility,” Jo pulled Alex back to bed with her. 

“So does this mean we can throw your pills and the condoms away?” Alex asked. 

“Yes. We can throw them all away,” Jo rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a kiss. 

“I say we get started right now,” Alex reached for the hem of her shirt. “Practicing, at least.”

“I wouldn’t object to that,” Jo giggled lightly. 

Neither one of them could wait for what the future had in store for them. 


	22. part twenty-two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> siblings and paper rings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thanks so much for your support with this fic. We hope you enjoy this next section!

———

#  **(March 2009)**

  
  


"Alex!" Meredith screeched as she met him in the hallway. "Alex! Answer your damn phone. I've been trying to call you for the past hour. Why weren't you answering my calls?"

"Sorry, Jo and I were in an on-call room, ya know," Alex smirked, a smug glint in his eye. 

"Ew, gross," Meredith made a face. "I did not need to know that."

"Well, aren't you happy that I didn't answer your calls while we were—"

"No, no, I'm going to stop you right there because I don't want to hear about the dirty, jailhouse hooker things that you and Jo do in the dark corners of the hospital," Meredith shuddered. "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about?”

“What did you want to talk about?” Alex exhaled impatiently. 

“I wanted to talk about why your brother showed up at my house this morning while I was in the shower,” Meredith whisper-yelled. “Why didn’t I know you have a brother? And why doesn’t he know where you live?”

“Crap,” Alex paused in the middle of the hallway. “What’s he doing here?”

“I don’t know, but I told him I’d bring him here with me to see you, so he’s hanging out in the lounge right now,” Meredith answered. 

The pair walked down to the residents’ lounge quickly. When Alex entered, he saw his brother standing there, talking to Izzie, Lexie, Jackson and Cristina. 

“Alex is the oldest, then me, and then Amber,” Aaron took a bite out of the granola bar in his hand. “Amber’s graduating from St. Savior’s in May. She’s… she’s smart like Alex. She could go to college if she wanted to, but she’s like “what’s the point?” you know?” And I don’t know what to tell her. Alex is the doctor in the family. I just move people for a living.”

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Alex chuckled lightly, startling Aaron, whose face lit up upon hearing Alex’s voice.

“Alex!” Aaron grinned and pulled his older brother into a tight hug. “Man you got old.”

“Dude, uh, what are you doing here?” Alex asked again. 

“I had to drive to Portland on a job, and since Portland is in the neighborhood...” Aaron shrugged. 

“Well, Portland is not in the neighborhood,” Alex shook his head, an amused smile on his face. 

“It’s three hours,” Aaron waved dismissively. “I can do three hours in my sleep.”

“Alex, he’s your brother. He’s allowed to come say hi,” Lexie rolled her eyes. 

“I’m overdue for a visit,” Aaron explained. “It’s been almost five and a half years.”

“No it has not,” Alex made a face. 

“Since you’ve been home?” Aaron raised his eyebrows. “Five and a half years.”

“You haven’t been home in five years?” Izzie gasped. 

“Has it been five years?” Meredith looked at Alex expectantly. 

“Amber was twelve the last time we saw you. It was that Christmas when you brought Jo home for the first time and mom walked in on you guys having sex because you’d just gotten together the night before,” Aaron chuckled at the memory. 

“Glad to see some things never change,” Cristina muttered under her breath. “We walk in on them on a weekly basis around here. They've been going at it like rabbits for the past few weeks.”

“We were not having sex,” Alex protested. “We were… kissing that’s all.”

“Oh yes, kissing with no clothes on. Definitely not having sex,” Aaron quipped sarcastically, garnering a few chuckles from the residents in the room. “Where is Jo by the way? Doesn’t she work here with you?”

“Aaron?”

“Speak of the devil,” Jackson nudged Lexie as Jo stood in the doorway of the lounge. 

“Jo?”

“Ah! Aaron?” Jo rushed over and embraced him enthusiastically. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!” Jo pulled away to get a good look at Aaron. “Look at you. You’re all grown up.”

“Grown up enough to get you to leave my brother for me?” Aaron joked. 

“Yikes, I hate to break it to you, but there’s only one Karev that holds the number one spot in my heart,” Jo paused for dramatic effect. “Amber.”

“Shut up,” Alex laughed at his girlfriend. “I think my mom would agree too. I think all of us would agree.”

“He’s right,” Aaron nodded, a smile on his face. 

“So, what’s going on?” Jo asked. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but, why are you here?”

“Well, I missed you guys,” Aaron tilted his head. “But since you guys are doctors, I thought I’d ask…” Aaron lifted up his shirt. “Should I be worried about this?”

***

When he woke up that morning, Alex did not think he’d be spending the first part of his day trying to locate Dr. Bailey in order to beg her to perform his brother’s umbilical hernia repair pro bono. But there he found himself filling out his brother’s paperwork as Aaron roamed the halls in a hospital gown saying God knows what to all of his coworkers. By the time Alex found Aaron again, he was sitting at a chair behind the nurses station, staring at the scans the Jo had pulled up. 

“And that right there is a kidney,” Jo pointed at the screen. 

“No way,” Aaron’s lips curved up slightly. “That’s so cool. Sometimes I wish I would’ve gone to school or training of some sort. I’ve always thought that I could’ve been a good firefighter.”

“You’ve still got plenty of time,” Jo encouraged. “You’re young and can do whatever you want.”

“I guess you’re right,” Aaron nodded. “I gotta live through this surgery first.”

“It’s a simple procedure,” Alex explained as he came up beside them. “Dr. Bailey is one of the best and she’s done this countless times. You’re going to be fine.”

“Alright, well I’ve got to go,” Jo straightened and placed a small kiss on Alex’s cheek. “I’m in the pit today with Hunt. Love you!”

“Love you, too,” Alex replied watching as Jo walked away. 

“You look stupid,” Aaron made fun of his older brother who glared at him. “I’m serious. You’re watching her walk away like you’re never going to see her again.”

“Shut up,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Let’s get you to your room.”

“Why aren’t you guys, you know, married yet?” Aaron asked when they finally got back to his hospital room. 

“Because we’re not,” Alex replied simply. 

“That’s not an answer,” Aaron sat down on the bed. “I’m serious. Why haven’t you married her? You guys have been together for over five years. What are you doing? Is this it? Is this all you have to give of yourself?”

“Of course not,” Alex sighed. “Look, we haven’t really told anyone this, but we’re kind of trying for a baby.” 

“You’re trying for a what, now?” Aaron’s eyes bulged. “A baby? As in an actual child that’s half you, half her, that you would raise together?” 

“Yeah,” Alex breathed out a shaky laugh. “Yeah we are… well, weren’t not exactly trying, just not... preventing anything.” 

“That’s great man. I’m happy for you two. I’m glad that you feel ready to take that step,” Aaron patted Alex's shoulder. “That still doesn’t explain why you haven’t popped the question yet. Grandma Lois would kill you if she found out that you were trying to knock your girl up before marrying her.” 

“I think I’m going to propose soon. I need to get a ring though, and it has to be perfect… I want to give her everything. She deserves that,” Alex stated quietly. 

“You may want to give her everything, but honestly? I don’t think she wants everything,” Aaron looked up at his older brother’s puzzled face. “I think she just wants you. And to be married to you and have kids with _you_. You’re all she wants and all she really needs. I know you aren’t used to that because of the way we grew up, but Alex, you’re going to keep making excuses for why you can’t propose for the rest of your life as long as you keep thinking that she deserves better than what you can give her.” 

“When did you get so smart?” Alex narrowed his eyes. “I swear, the last time I saw you, the only thing on your mind was football and sex.” 

“I grew up,” Aaron shrugged, a dimpled smile donning his cheeks. “Just ask her to marry you already. If you want, I’ll go with you to look at rings as soon as they clear me after surgery.” 

“I’d like that,” Alex grinned, leaning forward to ruffle Aaron’s hair. “You’re going places, kid.” 

  
  


***

  
_Two Weeks Later_

“Did you hear Nurse Jen got engaged last weekend? She came back from skiing with a massive rock on her hand.”

“Really? That’s like the sixth one in the past two months,” Cristina’s voice was annoyed, Meredith chuckling at her. “I only know because they always make a big deal out of their gloves ripping on the flashy rings their spoiled rich boy fiancé’s buy them.” 

Alex rolled his eyes as he shrugged out of his scrub top and grabbed his shirt from his locker. He was used to the pointless gossip the three girls swapped in the locker room, their voices and laughter always echoing out louder than anything else happening in the room. 

“Maybe the next one won’t be a nurse but one of our very own residents,” Meredith chucked her scarf at Alex, making him toss the fabric back and stare down the three women with a disgruntled stare. “Don’t give me that look, I think it’s about time you manned up and popped the question to Jo! I mean it feels like just yesterday we were calling her Dracula and now she’s kicking ass and taking names.”

“She’s got a point, Evil Spawn, pretty soon she’s gonna get tired of your shit and realize she’s way too good for you,” Alex met Cristina with a glare, the dark haired woman winking at him in return. “Seriously though, why’re you dragging your feet?”

“Shut up,” Alex grunted, trying to push the conversation aside. 

“C'mon, Alex, you guys have been together for a million years and you haven’t even thought about marrying her,” Izzie threw her hands up in exasperation as Cristina and Meredith nodded their heads in agreement. “I'd be getting impatient if I were her. Me and George weren’t even together when we got married. But we loved each other and that was enough. Especially since life is short and you never know how much time you have left.”

“If it’s the commitment you’re afraid of, that’s okay. We’re all messed up and have problems with that, but I have to agree with them, Alex. Time is ticking,” Meredith said, folding her clothes and putting them in the locker. “And if it’s the wedding you’re worried about, you can always borrow my post-it notes.” She chuckled, making the other girls join her in a laughing fit. 

“Leave me alone, all three of you. I have thought about marrying her, I’m aware that she could do much better, and I’m not afraid of commitment or the wedding part. I actually want to have a giant wedding, for your information,” Alex scowled before allowing his face to soften a bit. “And I don’t owe you any explanation because this is none of your business, but…” he rummaged around his locker and pulled out a tiny box that made all the women gasp giddily. “I’ve had to keep it here for the past week because she’d find it in the loft, but I’m proposing. Tonight.” He smiled, sitting down and showing them the ring. 

“Oh crap!” Cristina’s eyes widened. “You bought an actual diamond engagement ring.”

“No I’m proposing with a paper ring,” Alex deadpanned. “Of course I bought a ring.”

“Alex, this ring is beautiful,” Izzie fawned over it. 

“Really? You think she’ll like it?” He looked at it one more time before turning his gaze to the trio standing right behind him. 

“I think she’ll love it,” Meredith said. 

“Good. All those options at the store made me anxious. I never thought I’d ever go ring shopping, so I’m still a bit insecure about my choice, but I hope you’re right. I hope she loves it,” Alex let out a nervous breath, closing the little box again and putting it back in the back of his locker. 

“Dude, grow a pair,” Cristina teased him. 

“Shut up,” Alex rolled his eyes, making them laugh as they made their way out of the room. 

“Don’t worry, Evil Spawn. Dracula is gonna love it. You did a great job,” Cristina patted his back with a smile on her face as they parted ways. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this chapter of the med school fic? Are you just as excited as we are? Let us know what you think in the comments!


	23. part twenty-three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i think you guys know what's coming...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also... this has M Rated content. Read at your own discretion ;)
> 
> this is one of our favorites, enjoy! - Leya, Nina, and Nat

**(March 2009 cont.)**

Jo was exhausted, more so than she’d ever thought she had been before. Her day had been shitty, she’d been barfed on  _ twice _ , and she hadn’t seen Alex since she rolled out of bed that morning. The moment that Shepherd came up to her and let her know that she could leave for the day, she jumped at the opportunity and rushed to change out of her scrubs as quickly as possible. All she wanted at the moment was to get into the loft, take off her shoes, and drink a bottle of wine while her and Alex snuggled on the couch. 

Of course, why would anything work out for her? The door was jammed, something that it had a habit of doing in the winter months that drove her insane. Despite her upper body strength, she was never quite able to pry the heavy metal door open without Alex’s help. A groan left her as she began to dig through her purse in search of her phone. She didn’t think Alex was home, meaning she would have to call him and then wait for him to get there before she could get in.

Frustrated tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to find her phone, the emotions she’d been holding back all day coming to a head when she realized she would be stuck in the hallway until Alex came home. The small inconvenience was the tipping point for her as she slid down the door and began to cry loudly.

“Jo? What are you doing?” the door opened suddenly, Jo falling backwards as Alex pulled it back. She looked up from her place on the floor, eyes staring up at Alex in confusion. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

“I couldn’t open the door,” Jo made no effort to move from her spot laid out on the floor as she cried. “And then I couldn’t find my phone and I got puked on today and I just want some wine.”   
  
Alex kneeled down next to her, a small smile on his lips as he brushed her hair out of her face, “I have wine inside, you gotta get up though.”   
  
Jo took Alex’s outstretched hand, standing up and following him into their apartment. The living room was dark, the lights off but the room illuminated by dozens of candles that laid out everywhere. Jo turned around to look at Alex, who wore a crooked grin on his face as she looked up at him, “Wh—how? How’d you do all this?”   
  
“Bailey let me go early,” Alex shrugged, wrapping his arms around Jo’s waist. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Jo blinked once, twice, a third time before a gasp escaped her and her brain caught up with what was happening. The candles, the button up shirt her boyfriend was wearing, the stupid grin on Alex’s face… It all made sense now, “You let me lay on the floor? You’re planning on proposing and you let me lay on the damn floor?!”

“I got you to stand up! If I had known you were gonna lay on the floor I would have stopped you,” Alex laughed, kissing Jo sweetly before pulling back. “Now there’s something I’ve gotta do. It’s a little cheesy, but…”   
  
Jo watched in shock and awe as Alex kneeled down in front of her, grasping her hands in his as he looked up at her with a stupid grin, “Before you, I was just some stupid selfish kid riding through life without a care in the world. And then I met you and something in my stupid brain told me that you were different, you were worth it. And for some reason I decided to listen to that little part of my brain and… it was the best decision I could’ve made. Before I met you I always wanted to run, but I couldn’t run from you, not when you feel so much like home. Not when you’re the only person who’s loved me for exactly who I am… You’re so screwed up that you make me make sense. You and me, we just fit. And I want it all with you, everything else that happens from here on out I want you there with me, Jo. So…”   
  
Alex reached into his pocket, Jo’s breath hitching in her throat as she watched in slow motion as he opened the velvet box in his hands. The stupid cheesy grin on his face seemed to grow tenfold as he stared up at her with teary, hopeful eyes, “Josephine Wilson, will you please do me the immense honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes! Hell yes, a million times yes,” Jo leaned down and pressed her hands against Alex’s cheeks, kissing him soundly as she struggled to hold back her tears. “This makes up for all the barf and the laying on the floor.”

Alex laughed as he let a few tears escape his eyes. He stood up and slid the ring he’d spent the past two weeks obsessing over on Jo’s finger, marveling at the sight of it finally on her hand. He stared at her for a couple seconds, in awe of the woman in front of him. This was real. Jo had actually agreed to marry him. 

Jo must’ve noticed his amused expression because she looked at him weirdly, “What?” 

“Nothing,” Alex shrugged, a light chuckle escaping. “It’s just… out of everything in the history of my life, nothing has surprised me more than getting you to agree to marry me.” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Jo brought her hand up to his face again. “I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You make me feel safe and at home. You are my heart. Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?” 

At that moment, Alex didn’t really think there were words that could articulate everything he wanted to say to Jo. So, he did what he did best. He decided to show her. 

Leaning in for another kiss, Alex wrapped his arms around Jo, pulling her close to him. Jo buried her hands in his hair, kissing him back as if he was the very air she needed to breathe. When they finally parted, Alex allowed his lips to trail down the column of her throat. He let Jo’s soft gasps and whimpers be his guide as he led them over to the couch just a few feet away. 

Jo giggled as they fell back onto the couch cushions, “Really? The couch. We just got engaged and you want to have sex on the couch? The bed is right there.” 

“I’m impatient,” Alex’s hands found their way underneath her shirt and teased her exposed skin, causing Jo to shiver. “And I really don’t think you want me to stop, so I’m going to keep going. Besides, I told Shepherd we weren’t coming in tomorrow, so we’ve got all night to celebrate.” 

“All night?” Jo raised her eyebrows. “Is that a promise?” 

“Oh, definitely,” Alex’s lips curved into a smug grin. “You aren’t gonna know what hit you.” 

“Well then why are you still talking? Get to work,” Jo ordered as she stripped off her shirt and began to unbutton Alex’s. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Alex laughed as he helped her undress him and bent down to press light kisses along the edge of her bra. He played with the straps before reaching behind her to unhook it. He grinned as Jo’s breasts were finally exposed and leaned forward to kiss between her cleavage. “God, you are so beautiful. I love you so damn much.” 

“You just love my boobs,” Jo teased. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“I do. I really do love your boobs,” Alex confirmed, not even looking the slightest bit embarrassed at having said it. “But I don’t hear you complaining about the attention I give them.”

“Oh no, by all means, please continue,” Jo grinned brightly as she watched him excitedly return to kissing her breasts. 

Alex took his time giving each breast an equal amount of attention, taking each nipple in his mouth and swelling with pride as he saw Jo’s chest rise and fall and her back arch in response to his ministrations. Her chest and cheeks were flushed and her breaths were becoming more shallow, signaling that she was highly aroused and well on her way to what he was sure would be an intense climax. 

He loved that he could do this for her. He loved that he could make her feel this much pleasure. He loved that he could make her feel desired and cherished. It was humbling and thrilling all at the same time. The fact that they were engaged now, only made the thought that much more incredible. For the rest of their lives, he’d be the only one who would get to see her this way. 

“Alex,” Jo breathed out softly, pulling him from his thoughts. “No more teasing. I need you, right now.”

With an understanding nod, Alex let his hands slide down to Jo’s hips, unbuttoning her jeans and quickly pulling them off. He stood to remove his own pants, heart swelling at the look Jo fixed him with, “What's that look for?” 

“Nothing, I just really love you,” Jo grinned as she rose up on her knees and reached for Alex, bringing him down into a searing kiss. “And I really can’t wait to take your last name.”

Alex paused and looked at her strangely, “You want to take my last name?”

“I mean, yeah if it’s alright with you,” Jo shrugged shyly. “I know it isn’t common for female surgeons to do that anymore, but I just… I’d really like to take your last name, because I’ve never had the last name of anyone who’s ever loved me.”

“I love you so much, future Dr. Karev,” a chuckle left Alex as Jo pushed him down onto the couch, legs straddling his waist as she brought their lips together again. Her hot core was grinding down onto his throbbing erection, a groan coming from Alex as he wrapped his arms around Jo’s waist, “God, I’ve been thinking about this all damn day.”

“Well I’m glad I can finally give you what you want, Dr. Karev,” a smirk crossed Jo’s face as she sunk down onto Alex in one swift move, both of them letting a groan of relief out. Alex buried his face into Jo’s neck, his tongue darting out to tease at the hot skin as she began to move at a torturously slow rate above him. “This makes my whole day worth it.”

The pace Jo set was good, she felt perfect around him, but Alex needed more. Watching her moan and writhe above him had set something off within him and he wanted to savor the moment. With a x quick flip in position, Alex laid Jo down on the couch, pressing his hips into hers and eliciting a loud moan from her as she adjusted to the new position.

Alex watched in fascination as Jo’s back arched off the couch with each long thrust he made, her mouth agape as she let her moans fill the hot air between them. Bracing his hands on both sides of her head, Alex leaned down to bite at Jo’s neck again, his teeth marking her skin as he let the pace of his thrusts quicken.

“Alex… oh my god,” Jo’s voice was impossibly high pitched as she let her nails dig into Alex’s back, spurring him on to keep his wild pace up as she began to move her hips in time with them. He’d wanted to take things slow, to cherish Jo and worship her body after she had agreed to become his wife, but she’d had other plans and he knew as soon as she’d sat astride his lap earlier that he’d be a goner, succumbing to whatever it was that she wanted from him. “More, please more.”

Wasting no time in heeding Jo’s request Alex grabbed one of her legs and brought it up to wrap around his hips, letting him hit her at a deeper angle as he increased the speed of his thrusts. He could feel the way that he bottomed out with each movement of his hips, disjointed moans coming from Jo as her nails raked down his arms and grasped at the burning skin. 

Alex and Jo had had sex hundreds of times before this, they’d used every available flat surface they could find to get in each other’s pants. But this, this desperate and hot session on their couch was something that Alex didn’t think he would ever be able to forget. Jo’s breathy moans and the way she called his name as she neared her release imprinted themselves into his brain, his mind tucking away the image of her letting out a slow and throaty moan as she came, her eyes flitting up to meet Alex’s in a love drunk haze.

“You look gorgeous,” his words were low, almost a growl as his thrusts began to turn sloppy. Pressing his forehead against Jo’s, Alex let their lips ghost over each other as his own orgasm crept up inside of him. “I love you… I love you so much.”

Alex dipped his head down to Jo’s neck as he finally let himself go, spilling inside of her as she let out a desperate moan. The two laid still for a moment as they came to, letting themselves catch their breath and relish in the moment. When he finally did move, Alex laid himself out on the couch and brought Jo into his chest.

“I can’t believe you proposed to me,” Jo giggled, holding her hand up to inspect the ring that now graced her left hand. “I mean I knew you would eventually, but I’m still shocked. I didn’t think I’d ever get a happy ending.”

“You deserve everything good in this life, Jo. And I will do everything in my power to make sure we have a very happy life together,” Alex said, while Jo cuddled into his chest, his arm around her body. 

“What is this? Are we exchanging vows now?” Jo chuckled. 

“No, but I wanted you to know that this is what I’ve been preparing for. I am ready to make sure we have a life full of all that crap we see on those stupid romantic movies you make me watch,” he grunted, pretending to be mad, but not being able to hide the sweetness and happiness in his voice. 

“I am sure we will have a very happy life together,” she smiled at him brightly and let out a dreamy sigh as she stared at her ring. “I can’t wait to be a Karev.”

“Jo Karev does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t?” Alex nodded and placed a kiss to her forehead.

“It sure does,” Jo grinned widely.

“I love you,” he pecked her lips. 

“I love you too, fiancé.” 


End file.
